About
Definition
With thousands of players being involved with different sports all over the world, the interest of people in sports in India is growing every day. They are interested in not only playing the sport but also in knowing more about the sport i.e. the latest events related to their favorite sport, the profile of the sportsperson they like, etc. In this context, emerges the role of a sports journalist who comes with a passion for sports and a keen eye for writing. His job is to update the readers and viewers with the latest news about different sports by presenting it in a manner that is not only catchy but precise and apt. Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on sporting topics and competitions. It is the essential element of a number of news media organizations. A sports journalist can work in the field of:- a) Broadcast Journalism namely radio or television.
- b) Print Journalism namely magazine or newspaper.
- He can begin by opting for any stream in class 11 and 12 and can prepare for journalism entrance tests for the bachelor's degree.
- A student can choose to opt for a bachelor program offered by several institutes of journalism which is for three years. The courses provided by these institutions are extremely comprehensive and teaches students everything they need to know about journalism including sports journalism.
- Very few colleges offer a separate master degree in sports journalism. This aspect of journalism is usually collaborated with the general journalism program with a specialization in a specific area such as sports journalism.
- A person can also consider diploma in sports journalism which specifically focuses on this aspect of journalism and provides a thorough learning program for those wanting to opt for sports journalism.
Career Path
Colleges
- Asian Academy of Film & Television (AAFT), Noida, Noida
- Asian College of Journalism, Chennai, Chennai
- Christ University, Bengaluru, Bengaluru
- Delhi University (DU), New Delhi, New Delhi
- India Today Media Institute, Noida, Noida
- Indian Institute of Journalism & New Media, Bengaluru, Bengaluru
- Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi, New Delhi
- Kamala Nehru College, Delhi, Delhi
- Lakshmibai National Institute of Physical Education, Gwalior, Gwalior
- Manipal University, Manipal, Manipal
- National School of Journalism, Bengaluru, Bengaluru
- St Pauls Institute of Communication Education, Bangalore, Indore
- Times School of Journalism, Delhi, Delhi
Top Colleges
Bengaluru
Key Skills
Career Prospect
- Sports Writer
- Match Reporter
- Freelance Sports Journalist
- Sports Journalist
- Sports Columnist
- Sports Author
- Sports News Editor
- Sports Advisor
Scope
- Newspaper
- Radio
- Television
- Magazines
- Online Journalism
- Media Organizations
Pay Package
- A sports journalist gets somewhere between ₹20,000 to ₹45,000 per month
Role Models
Ayaz Memon
Ayaz Memon is an Indian sports writer, journalist, columnist, author and lawyer. He was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut. After graduating in economics and law from Bombay University, Ayaz pursued journalism as a career after a chance job with Sportsweek magazine in 1978 while still at law school. He went on to edit newspapers like Mid-Day, Bombay Times and DNA apart from being editor of Sportsweek magazine and sports editor of the Times of India and the Independent at various stages. He is now consulting editor with NewsX and a columnist with Hindustan Times, Mint, Mail Today, Deccan Chronicle and occasionally Times of India. In the course of his career Ayaz has covered over 300 Test matches and more than 400 One-Day Internationals all over the world. He has also covered 9 Cricket World Cups, the 2006 Football World Cup, the 1988 Olympics, Wimbledon in 1991 and 1993, the 1998 and 2010 Commonwealth Games and the 1990 Asian Games. He also covered the 2015 Cricket World Cup Final on Huffingston Post. He currently does shows such as Firstpost Gameplan where he reviews the IPL matches. Recently, Ayaz has teamed up with a media agency named DigiOsmosis and is starting a sports website named 'Sportswallah.com'. Ayaz also does a daily news FB live bulletin with Sportswallah which can be seen on the 'Sportswallah' FB page. He is also working on an illustrated history of Indian cricket and a script for a film project based on sports and politics in India.
Mayanti Langer
Mayanti Langer is an Indian journalist with STAR. She has hosted many tournaments like Football Cafe on Zee Sports, 2010 FIFA World Cup broadcast on ESPN, 2010 Commonwealth Games, 2011 Cricket World Cup, 2014 Indian Super League and 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup. Her interest in football grew when she was in USA, as her father worked in UN. She was in her college football team in the beginning and then became a guest anchor for a broadcast of FIFA beach football. With the success of the broadcast, she was offered a spot as host and associate producer for Football Cafe on Zee Sports. Langer then went on to work for various football shows on the Zee network providing commentary and interviews during pre-match, half-time and post-match shows. She was also the anchor on Zee Sports for the Nehru Cup football tournament held in New Delhi at the Ambedkar Stadium. She worked as an anchor for Zee Sports' coverage of the Indian Cricket League. She was a host in the 2010 FIFA World Cup broadcast in India, on ESPN which includes a pre-match, half-match and post-match analysis. She headed a team of expert panelists alongside John Dykes for that show. Mayanti Langer also hosted 2010 Commonwealth Games held at Delhi along with Charu Sharma and 2011 Cricket World Cup held in India. She also hosted India vs South Africa Cricket test series in 2013 December in Ten Sports.
KN Prabhu
KN Prabhu, was a prominent Indian journalist who specialized in cricket. Most of his best work was done while working for the Times of India newspaper. He joined the paper in 1948 and was the sports editor from 1959 to 1983. None of his works have been published as books. He was awarded the C. K. Nayudu Award for his contributions to cricket in 1998. He was the only sports journalist who has received the C K Nayudu Trophy by Cricket Control Board, which is normally given to cricket players. He and his wife, who predeceased him by two years, had a daughter and a son. After his death the Press Club Mumbai instituted the K N Prabhu Award for Excellence in Cricket Writing in his honour.
Vimcy
Vimcy, known as Vimcy, was a sports writer from Kerala. He is considered to be the pioneer of sports journalism in Kerala. He won numerous awards during his journalistic career spanning more than half a century. At a time when Malayalam newspapers dedicated little space to sports news, Vimcy started an entire sports page with Mathrubhumi. It was under him that sports writing became a separate branch of journalism in Kerala. Vimcy was also behind the weekly sports feature page Sports Special in Mathrubhumi. He used to write extensively about Football. Vimcy won numerous awards including one from Kerala State Sports council for lifelong contributions to the field of sports journalism. Other awards included M.P. Paily award, Neelambaran Memorial award (from Kesari Memorial Committee), T. Aboobacker award and Press Academy Silver Jubilee award. Balachandran was born on 25 November 1924 at Thamarassery in Kozhikode district to Dr. Narayanan Nair and Narayani. Unable to finish his intermediate education at Palakkad Victoria College due to ill health, he joined the Kozhikode newspaper Dinaprabha in 1949 as a journalist.
Harsha Bhogle
Harsha Bhogle, is an Indian cricket commentator and journalist. He was born in a Marathi speaking family in Hyderabad. Bhogle began his career as a cricket player for the APCA and has played small level cricket. Then he started commentating at the age of 19 with All India Radio, while living in Hyderabad. In 1991–92, he became the first Indian commentator to be invited by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation during India's cricket series before the 1992 Cricket World Cup. He has since worked for ABC Radio Grandstand during India's Australian tours, and for eight years worked for the BBC as part of their commentary team in the 1996 and the 1999 Cricket World Cups. Since 1995, he has been presenting live cricket from all around the world for ESPN STAR Sports and was part of the 'Few Good Men' commentary team that included Ravi Shastri, Sunil Gavaskar, and Alan Wilkins along with Geoff Boycott and Navjot Singh Sidhu, for a few seasons, and later, Ian Chappell and Sanjay Manjrekar.