JOURNALISM is recognised as one of the most competitive careers to take on, with football reporters up there among the most envied in the profession, writes Daniel Ball.
IMAGINE going to Wembley stadium to report on the FA Cup final and not having to pay £50 to get through the gate – not to mention, having the best seat in the house... and being paid for it.
Sounds like a dream, doesn't it? It doesn’t have to be.
But like any ‘dream job’ – the reality is that it’s hard work behind the scenes which will bring you the rewards.
You can forget about working from Monday to Friday, nine to five. This job needs a lot of commitment. In my opinion, the most obvious quality needed, is passion.
And you have to be sure that you have the right personality. A football reporter, like any other reporter, has to be nosey and prepared to go to great lengths to get the stories they want.
They are not afraid to ask awkward questions.
Journalist Linda Jones says: “When I trained to work as a news reporter on an evening paper, we were told there is no such thing as a silly question – some people may disagree, but to this day, I still think of that bit of advice.
"If you don’t understand something, say so. If you can't grasp what is being said, then there is every chance your readers won’t either – clarify what is meant else your copy will be thrown back at you.
"If you are writing for a blog then your readers can comment, saying that what you have reported is not clear, wrong or incomplete – make sure you get your facts right.”
Don’t forget that reporters employed by the mainstream media are supposed to be neutral.
It would be useless, for example, if you are a fan of a particular team, to go to a game in which bitter rivals are playing and then writing with no passion about that game because your team weren’t playing.
Don’t expect to be reporting on your team every week – or even ever, in some cases.
Your passion needs to be for the game as a whole. If you really want to sing your team’s praises then a fan site or a blog could allow your support to shine through.
Criticism is bound to come your way in this job, so be prepared for it. You’ll need a thick skin.
Be realistic about your expectations. You’re not going to get a job at one of the national newspapers as soon as your education has finished.
It’s also unlikely that you will be doing sport straight away. One way in is to tackle what you may consider stories a million miles away from what you would like to be writing about, on a local paper. There is huge competition.
I know it sounds tough but I’m afraid you will very rarely do reporters go straight into their intended area of work.
One factor that often makes people close the door on journalism is the amount of spare time lost due to the job – and this can be particularly pressing in sports journalism.
I interviewed journalist Neil Barraclough, who writes for broadsheet and tabloid papers.
He says: “As a freelance, I work non stop from Wednesday to Sunday evening and have Monday and Tuesday as my weekend.
“There is no going out on a Friday or Saturday night with your friends, when spare time is presented to you, it would be wise to accept it.”
In school, we have been told that to make a start in journalism, you need A-level English and IT skills. You should also keep up to date with changing trends in journalism – look out for how technology is changing the profession, through different means of news gathering and distribution.
Arguably the most vital qualification, alongside an ability to coax information out of people, is that from the National Council for the Training of Journalists.
A proportion of journalists do not have this qualification, and they make an extremely good living – but some would say they are the exception rather than the rule.
You also need to ask yourself how well you can handle the pressure of deadlines.
Neil Barraclough adds: “For a lot of the time during my working time Wednesday to Friday, I find myself waiting for work.
“Then pressure can then be put onto your shoulders all of a sudden, with a tonne of work to do.”
Look into courses in journalism and find one that is right for you. A degree in a subject you enjoy can also be a good stepping stone to further training.
Top ten tips on becoming a football journalist
• Take every opportunity to see your name in print when it comes your way.
• Develop an online presence with a blog, investigate audio and video content and build skills in these areas
• Try and put yourself out there. Plenty of magazines and newspapers have opportunities for fans to contact them with their views, some of which will be printed. You could build a name for yourself in the local press.
• Practise your writing skills as often as often as possible.
• Make sure that you go on work experience to somewhere involved with media and journalism.
• If you have been to a work experience placement, do your best to build a relationship with the journalists to help with future opportunities.
• Be prepared to take criticism for your work if you become a reporter, it is part and parcel of the job.
• Be prepared to work in another area of journalism first.
• Be prepared to go the extra mile and set yourself apart from the competition
• Remember editors can be brutally honest and don’t take it personally.
Daniel Ball, 14, is a pupil at Cheslyn Hay Sports and Community High School. He is a Man Utd fan and his ambition is to be a football reporter. He wrote this piece as part of his work experience at Passionate Media. If you have any tips you would like to pass on to him, I hope you can add a comment.
Well done Daniel! This is a very well-written piece, I read it right to the end and I don't even want to write about football!
You have obviously understood that journalism requires hard work and passion, but it also requires a flair for writing good copy and you certainly have that.
Good luck with your writing and the rest of your school career
Posted by: Sarah Cruickshank | June 26, 2008 at 08:13 PM
Hi Dan,
Congratulations on the piece - a good effort.
Just wanted to clarify my final quote: I was trying to get across that deadlines in sports journalism can often be very, very tight. That means that the pressure during the day may be relatively calm, but once you're covering a football match that kicks off at 8pm it can get very stressful, very quickly.
Some papers want a *full* report (including intro) when there are still 20 minutes of the game left. You then make a final call to the desk to update them with anything that happened in the later stages after they've already subbed your stuff. Not a relaxing experience if there are a couple of late goals and/or you're covering it for more than one paper. Writing two or three 'runners' at once can be edge-of-your-seat stuff, that's for sure!
Like any area of journalism, it's all about hard work, commitment and dedication. If you're willing to put in the effort then it's an achievable career for anyone, although it does come with a warning: when you go to more than 115 games in a single year (as I did in 2007) you very quickly find them all blurring into one. It then becomes a matter of professionalism, not passion.
Good luck!
Posted by: Neil Barraclough | June 27, 2008 at 01:27 AM
Thanks Sarah for your encouragement for Daniel.
Thanks again Neil, not only for taking the time to help but also adding so much here in the comments - you make a very important point - an aspiring reporter can be as passionate as they like but if that doesn't lead to professionalism and a strong work ethic then they're in trouble.
Posted by: Linda | June 27, 2008 at 09:06 AM
Daniel, I was quite surprised to see your age on the end of this piece - and I mean that as an absolute compliment. Keep it up and good luck!
Posted by: Anne | June 27, 2008 at 11:01 AM
Great article, Daniel. Well researched, and beautifully written.
I would just add that there is a growing number of paying opportunities for football reporters and columnists to write for websites. For example, a friend of mine writes a regular column on non-league football for the Sporting Life website. Admittedly there aren't many full-time jobs for online football reporters yet though!
Posted by: Nick Daws | June 27, 2008 at 11:33 AM
Thank you everyone for all of your really positive comments.
I would like to add a big thank you to Neil Barraclough for all of your advice and information. And an even bigger thank you to Linda Jones at Passionate Media giving me this task in the first place, and for giving me some great advice and help all week during Work Experience at Passionate Media. I woud also like to Thank Carol and Helen at Passionate Media for making my experience so worth while.
From Dan
Posted by: Daniel Ball | June 27, 2008 at 02:45 PM
Well done Dan! You've done a great job on this.
Posted by: Jan Murray | June 28, 2008 at 08:06 AM
Blogs are good for every one where we get lots of information for any topics nice job keep it up !!!
Posted by: how to write a good dissertation | February 02, 2009 at 09:40 AM
Hi i was just wondering whether anyone had any advice for me. ive always wanted to be in football journalism or commentary and im in year 9 and im about to take my options and i was wondering what i should really take and any corses i would need to do in the future to have the best chance of getting in to journalism.
If you have any advice could you e-mail me at oliversam123@msn.com
Posted by: Oliver McGrath | October 25, 2009 at 10:26 PM