Career Path Of Becoming A Sports Manager

Sports media has changed the way sports are viewed today. Sports reporters live their job. They do this in order to give their audience concise explanations of their views on the current sports world. Sports reporters go through a specified career path, and are highly trained to perform their job at the highest level. I plan on taking the specified route, putting in time, and making sports a priority in my life in order to become a household name in sports. As an accomplished reporter, I will travel all over the world to report back to the U.S. as a primary source of sports information.
The career path to becoming a journalist is very specific, and starts early. Writing is the major skill needed to be a touted reporter, so it is necessary
to put an emphasis on English early in one’s education (WISCareers NP). Besides English, there are other classes that are not mandatory, yet very beneficial. Journalism and the performing arts are very helpful classes for any reporter (WISCareers NP). Through journalism I will learn skills specific to a future career in the field. Through performing arts I will become comfortable performing live, a skill essential to any broadcasting career. After high school comes the most indispensible part of any journalist’s career. With the exception of special cases, all journalists require a minimum of a four-year bachelors degree in journalism to obtain a job (WISCareers NP). I plan on attending The University of Texas, Austin(UT), where I will major in sports journalism. UT has a highly touted journalist program that will teach me specific skills essential to a career in journalism (Education Portal NP). I also plan on completing a minor in broadcasting production. Doing so will teach me what is done behind the scenes. That valuable knowledge gives me the flexibility to work on set or behind the camera. Having multiple skills that directly apply to journalism will serve me well when I need to “climb the ladder”.
There is a vast field of reporters that is filled with cutthroat competition. To excel to great success one must have to be unique, have honed skills, and have passion for sports. Reporters are judged by their audience, an inferior one sticks out. Poor reporters take away from the sport, and are the subject of extensive ridicule. To elevate to the top level of reporting, one must learn how to put their own mark on all of their work, and prove their quality through experience. "You should make an especially strong effort to land a summer or part-time job on the local newspaper; constant new experiences are the key to becoming a good sportswriter. These experiences will greatly enhance your ability to obtain a full-time position following graduation” (Heitzmann 54). Traditionally, the standard way to do this would be to start at a small news group, but do to the forecasted 7% decrease in job availability over the next 10 years in Wisconsin, I am going to take an alternative route to my success (WISCareers NP). Even though the field is downsizing, I plan on entering the competition by utilizing the new vastly growing region of the industry: digital social networking (WISCareers NP). With Facebook nearly adding more than 150,000 members a day (TIME NP), I will make my first splash as a reporter on my own internet series. Through self-employment I will not have to rely on my employers to give me opportunities to showcase my ability, and hope for a job. Instead, through self-employment I will hold my own destiny in my hands. By producing and staring in my series, I will showcase what I have learned at The University of Texas Austin. Pushing my show through blooming digital social networks, my show will gain a following, and in turn boost my reputation, pushing me into the spotlight.
Reporters generally start with a low salary, and can only increase their pay if they prove themselves in the field by creating fan base.
The average starting pay level for sports journalism in Wisconsin is $17,890 per year, and $19,650 per year nationally (WISCareers NP). Once I accumulate a following, I take my talents to the next level and apply at ESPN for a job opening either in front, or behind the camera. There I will have to work my way from behind the scene on stage, from minor to major roles, and eventually becoming a major contributor as a major sports analyst. While in the spotlight I will reach the national top pay level of $74,000 per year, and I will eventually surpass it as I reach celebrity status (WISCareers NP). As a key member of ESPN, I will receive major opportunities that otherwise would not be available. I will have the opportunity to travel to major league stadiums to cover games, attend championships, report internationally at the Olympics, and meet both current, and former athletes while getting paid. Once I gain seniority at ESPN, I will be living any diehard sports fan’s
dream. As a sports reporter, everything one does is dedicated to being the best source for all sports related news. The obvious part of being a reporter is what happens in front of the camera, and in the magazines; covering, reporting, and breaking down current events in sports culture. However what happens in between all that is far more important. To be a top-notch reporter I must eat, sleep, and live sports. That means when I am not in the studio or office reporting, I must watch all the major games, and keep up to date with all the happenings in sports in order to have one’s own detailed and unique opinion on all major plots, and subplots. In general; I must be up to speed with all things sports. As a sports reporter, I will work year round in many locations, at all hours of the day and night.
To start my career, I will work from my home during the day, as I try to create a reputation as an esteemed reporter. Early in my career I will only travel to cover live events when I feel necessary, and when I can afford the expense of travel. Since the trips will be on my own dollar, it is unlikely that I will make many trips outside local, or regional games. When I take my talents the next level, I will spend all my time, year round, in Bristol, Connecticut, at the ESPN studios. There, I will spend a lot of time behind the scenes in the office, working at night producing, and writing as I wait for my shot at fame. As I begin to get roles in front of the camera, I will start at night during less desirable hours as I work to gain experience at the next level. As I excel, I will be promoted and constantly shifted to more prime or desirable hours, in order to increase my exposure. Eventually, I will be working for the five o’clock prime time SportsCenter; only then will I gain the opportunities for major travel. As a senior member of the reporting crew I will travel to major sporting events to give a detailed report as a primary
source. Sports media has revolutionized today’s world of sports. Reporting has come from a rare talent, to a trainable skill. Elite reporters who put in the time and effort, are in turn, paid well and given opportunities to live out their dreams as sports fans. I plan on living my dream as a sports fan and cover sports all around the world while putting my own mark on sporting culture.