Sports Journalism Course

Why Study Sports Journalism?

We’re big fans of sport at The School of Journalism – which is why every trainee gets the option to study sports journalism as part of their BA (Hons) Multimedia Journalism degree. 

Our NCTJ sports journalism module is run in association with the UK’s leading sports content agency Sportsbeat – and you learn from tutors with first-hand experience in sports reporting.

Our media links put us at the heart of the industry. Our news and sports agencies, including Sportsbeat, produce more than 75,000 stories for 500 media organisations each year.

We are the official news agency for a host of organisations providing content to clients as diverse as the Football Association, the British Olympic Association and the National Lottery, with content on all platforms from newspapers to radio stations, magazines to social media and TV to magazines.

It’s really important to train as an all-round journalist – and get your NCTJ Diploma – with a sports journalism qualification as an added bonus, rather than pigeonhole yourself too early. On our course you’ll learn all the essential skills to thrive in every area of journalism – studying media law, audio journalism and feature writing, for example – and also have the option to specialise in sports journalism.

As well as writing for our in-house publications, our trainees get unrivalled opportunities to carry out external work placements – and sports journalism placements are often some of the most popular. 

Our summer bursary scheme offers you up to £1,000 each summer to carry out a journalism project or placement of your choice, and in recent years our trainees have gone above and beyond to get the best possible start to their careers in sports journalism. 

Andreas joined Sportsbeat in Munich to cover the 2022 European Championships and interviewed athletes in the mixed zone. 

While Ben got the chance to cover the AIG Women’s Open golf championship in Scotland and meet some of the sport’s biggest stars.

Jake got accreditation to attend the Copa America in Brazil and had all of his work published on Yahoo Sport.

And Luke organised the filming of a boxing documentary in Bermuda!

@newsassociates_ Daily Mail deputy chief sports writer Ian Herbert’s top tips for getting into sports journalism ⚽️🏈 #SportsJournalism #TopTips #News #PostgraduateJournalism #JournalismDegree #JournalismWorkshop #NCTJ #JournalismStudent ♬ ALMOST HOME – Mad Adix, Marc Steinmeier

Closer to home, Will travelled to London to make a sports documentary centred on a local football club.

Matt carried out an internship with an extreme sports media network!

And Lily spent her bursary at the MailOnline, where she covered the celebrations after England won the UEFA Women’s Euro final in 2022.

As well as learning the ins and outs of sports journalism from our tutors, our trainees have access to an incredible network of alumni working across the sports journalism industry, as well as regular guest speakers who give their top tips and insights.

You can find our trainees and graduates on the back pages of our national newspapers, presenting and reporting on Sky Sports News, or working internationally for some of the most respected names in journalism, from Reuters to Agence France Presse. 

They have also made their way to the media departments of Premier League football clubs and national governing bodies, from the British Olympic Association to the MCC.

FAQs about studying sports journalism

If I want to be a sports journalist, why do I need to study modules like media law and public affairs?

First and foremost, you need to be a good journalist. Lots of the foundation skills of journalism are the same – finding stories, building contacts, presenting facts and opinion, understanding media law and ethics, and interviewing skills, for example.

Sport is much more than what happens on the field of play – sport is business/money/showbiz. Covering the 2022 FIFA Qatar World Cup and LIV Golf is way more than live sports reporting!

Saying that, sports journalism is also everything you expect it to be. You could be liveblogging the UEFA Champions League final, interviewing the winner of Wimbledon, investigation corruption, producing an F1 podcast, and reporting live from the Olympic Games.

How will I study sports journalism on this course?

The NCTJ sports journalism module is taught once every three years with all three year groups.

But there are plenty of opportunities for extra-curricular sports journalism across your whole course.

You’ll have access to plenty of sports journalists delivering guest talks, you can bring in sports journalism to stories you cover in your other modules, and you can undertake sports journalism work placement.

What does the NCTJ sports journalism module cover?

The NCTJ module teaches you how to produce the different types of stories required at each point in the sports news cycle – from a preview and a live report, to reaction and analysis.

It also covers sports politics, attending press conferences, conducting interviews, and writing sports features.

Jacob Bentley-York spent his bursary on a trip to Brazil to cover the Copa America. Jake studies sports journalism as part of his degree.

 

 
 
 
 
 
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Listen to our ‘How to be a Journalist’ podcast on Spotify. 

We spoke to The Athletic staff editor Richard Amofa about how he got into sports journalism and what his advice is for young people wanting to break into the industry.

What are your three top tips for aspiring sports journalists?

  1. Try to build your contacts – they’re really key when you’re looking for stories or producing good background pieces.
  2. Be really inquisitive – always try to dig deeper and make sure you’re cross-referencing and double-checking things. It’s always good to get a second source to back up what one source is saying, because they might not be correct or you might need more detail to inform the reader.
  3. Be knowledgeable and make sure you’re clued up on as much as possible. When you have background information it does help you see how things link together and gain a better picture.

Do you have any advice for sixth form students who want to be sports journalists?

Don’t be afraid to get started, you’re never too young. Ask for experience at papers or do your own thing – you can start a YouTube channel or a podcast, there are so many ways to create content now.

Just get started and build on your quality as you go along. You never know how far you might get.

What were the most important skills you learnt during your NCTJ training?

Attention to detail, speed and accuracy! Accuracy is key – of course you want to be first on a story but don’t be first and wrong.

Do you need an NCTJ to get into sports journalism?

It definitely helps because an employer knows with an NCTJ you’ve had top quality training.

There are a lot of university courses teaching journalism courses but not with any accreditation valued by employers, which I don’t think is very fair.

If you’re picking a journalism course, choose one with NCTJ accreditation. In many industries you need a qualification to get on the ladder – why should journalism be any different?

What’s the biggest mistake aspiring sports journalists make?

When I was younger, I was maybe not as prepared as I should have been. Make sure you’re ready for job interviews and you’ve got things to show people and prove why they should hire you.

You should also make sure when you’re on work experience you don’t just sit in a corner and do what’s given to you.

If someone has one work experience person every week, that’s 52 people in a year – what are you doing to stand out? Do things that will make them remember you and think about what you can provide that’s different.

Is it better to have a wide knowledge of sports or to specialise in one area?

It does help to have an acute knowledge of something specific – you don’t want to be a jack of all trades, master of none. If you have some particular knowledge you can build an avenue for yourself.

At The Athletic we have reporters at each and every club – they know the club inside out and they know everything going on 24/7. They’ve built the avenue for themselves to be the go-to person for that club.

But having said that, you shouldn’t completely put yourself in a box and having knowledge of other things helps to build the bigger picture.