Daniel Clark//Q09766961/ CMW114

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Student Name: Daniel ClarkStudent Number: Q09766961

Faculty: Creative Industries and SocietyLevel of study: Level 1

Course title: BA (Hons) Sport Journalism

Unit title: Career Skills for Sports WritersAssignment title: Research and write a report about the sports writing industry and

the skills needed to obtain employment as a sports journalist. The report with

appendix should include information about successful sport journalists, their skills

and personal qualities; employment practices of the sports reporting industry Assignment tutor: Julia NewmanWord count: 2372Learner request for feedback: One to One session with lecturer

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Research and write a report about the sports writing industry and the skills needed to obtain employment as a sports journalist. The report with appendix should include information about successful sport journalists, their skills and personal qualities; employment practices of the sports reporting industry By Daniel Clark.

By Daniel Clark.

1.0 Summary

1.1 This report is about the sports writing industry and the skills needed to obtain employment required to make a good sport journalist. Using their specific skills and personal qualities to where there was in the past to get to where they are today.

1.2 The report is demonstrating professional sports Journalist’s Darren Lewis, Oliver Holt and Paul Hayward background and past comparing and contrasting the skills and qualities that journalists have such as developing their writing style guides as well as starting off to get into the public eye writing blogs about the weekend sport and columns about the weekend sport to get themselves noticed.

1.3 This report also looks at two international companies BBC, Sky, as well how social networking and how people respond more quickly to information that is in front of them on a computer rather than buying newspapers and how the social networks how became more developed to make Sport Journalism more difficult for sports writer’s to gain more readers.

1.4 It makes becoming an sports journalist more of a skill as to get to top level they have to adapt and respond quickly by learning both the traditional methods of sports Journalism as well being changeable to adapt to the new social networking changes that have occurred across the last 10 years.

Research and write a report about the sports writing industry and the skills needed to obtain employment as a sports Journalist. The report with Appendix should include information about successful sports journalists, their skills and personal qualities; employment practices of sports reporting industry by Daniel Clark.

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2.0 Contexts page1.0 Summary…………………………………………………………………………..22.0 Contexts……………………………………………………………………………33.0 Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………44.0 Terms of Reference………………………………………………………………45.0 Introduction………………….…………………………………………………….66.0 Findings…………………………………………………………………………….5Daily Mirror Darren Lewis……………………………………………………………………………………..5Daily Mirror Oliver Holt………………………………………………………………..6Daily Telegraph and Daily Mail Paul Hayward………………………………………………………………………………….7BBC……………………………………………………………………………………….8Sky…………………………………………………………………………………………8Social Networking………………………………………………………………………107.0 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………..108.0 Recommendations…………………………………………………11

9.0 Bibliography ……………………………………………………..12

Research and write a report about the sports writing industry and the skills needed to obtain employment as a sports Journalist. The report with Appendix should include information about successful sports journalists, their skills and personal qualities; employment practices of sports reporting industry by Daniel Clark.

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3.0 Acknowledgements

BBC Sky Daily Mirror Daily Mail Daily Telegraph Social Networking Press Gazette

4.0 Terms of Reference

4.1 This report has been requested by Southampton Solent University under the tutorship of Julia Newman in the unit Career skills for Sport Writer’s.

4.2 To ensure information is up-to-date the Internet was majorly used in this report.

4.3 As well as this the press gazette trade journal was used in part of the report.

4.4 Also I used BBC and Sky figures and facts for advertising and subscriptions from the companies websites.

5.0 Introduction

Research and write a report about the sports writing industry and the skills needed to obtain employment as a sports Journalist. The report with Appendix should include information about successful sports journalists, their skills and personal qualities; employment practices of sports reporting industry by Daniel Clark.

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5.1 “Sports Journalism is not an easy job to get a career in not by any stretch of the imagination”(1). It takes years of hard work and creating an individual style guide in reporting. Also it involves huge amount of analytical skills and being able to take constructive criticism.

5.2 In the modern times sport journalism is more witnessed and read on the Internet such as BBC Sport, Sky Sport News because it is there in front of you and easier to read than a newspaper. As well as that there is social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter and online newspapers for example the Mail Online that produce the latest news as it happens rather than waiting the next day for the news on sport.

6.0 Findings

Darren Lewis

6.0 Darren has worked for broadcast Journalism on Sky Sports News as well as radio stations TalkSPORT and Five Live, Darren ventured into broadcast media in 2005 with appearances on GMTV. Which makes him approachable to gain access towards which is crucial in modern day Journalism. Also his Football Spy daily transfers bulletin was voted in January 2010 the most popular sports show on YouTube again showing he is worldwide known to the international market this making a likeable character in the journalistic world. (2)

6.1 This has led him to a number of different awards such as Digital journalist of the year in 2009, named in the top 30 influential black people in football as well as this nomination for Sports News Reporter of the Year in 2005. (3)

Research and write a report about the sports writing industry and the skills needed to obtain employment as a sports Journalist. The report with Appendix should include information about successful sports journalists, their skills and personal qualities; employment practices of sports reporting industry by Daniel Clark.

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6.2 Darren Lewis and Oliver Holt has worked for the daily mirror for numerous years now and although they worked for the same newspaper they have different skills and personal qualities.

6.3 Darren Lewis for example he writes in short, sharp sentences to make the reader read on and interact with the articles he writes which gives him his own style which is very important in journalism.

6.4 As well as this he do not just report and write about one sport, although he mainly writes about football he has niches sports such as tennis and snooker which makes more likely to write about different events. (3)

Oliver Holt

6.5 Oliver Holt like Lewis has won numerous awards such as Sport Columnist of the year in 2007 and 2008. (4)6.6 He is the chief sports writer for the Daily Mirror as well as being on the television shows such as The Sunday Supplement. (4)

6.7 He is not liked by most sport stars, say what think approach contrasting with Darren Lewis who is very much liked by sport stars.

6.8 He has had an number of arguments with professional footballers and managers over the years such as Rio Ferdinand who calls him a “Fat Prick” after Oliver Holt said missing a drugs test is just as bad as failing one. (5)

6.9 Similarly to Darren Lewis Oliver Holt uses short, sharp sentences and unlike Darren Lewis the odd rhetorical questions to make the reader read on and find out more about the story but uses more destructive language to Research and write a report about the sports writing industry and the skills needed to obtain employment as a sports Journalist. The report with Appendix should include information about successful sports journalists, their skills and personal qualities; employment practices of sports reporting industry by Daniel Clark.

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cause a stir in the press offices to see how people react particularly on twitter. Such as “You have to rise above it,” he said, scolding. Then, he jabbed his finger into his chest. “That’s what we do,” he said. Which is annoying Rio Ferdinand more to see how he reacts. (5)

Paul Hayward

6.10 Paul Hayward has worked for the Daily Mail however he previously worked for the Guardian and now is currently working for the Daily Telegraph due to being offered a better salary and tempted back so therefore has fought up his own individual style as a writer rather than short, sharp sentences his uses his wit to demonstrate his craft of interacting with the reader “Nice try if you just shouted Newcastle, but we’re going to have send you home with £50 and a commemorative tie.” As well as During the Hammers’ 2-0 Defeat by Spurs this week I started to count the indignities heaped on the East End congregation. There weren’t enough fingers in my street. Which most reader Research and write a report about the sports writing industry and the skills needed to obtain employment as a sports Journalist. The report with Appendix should include information about successful sports journalists, their skills and personal qualities; employment practices of sports reporting industry by Daniel Clark.

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would have a laugh at if they were reading it. (6)

6.11 Hayward is a regular guest on TV sports discussion panels which again like Lewis makes him easy to communicate with and answering questions if they are any, and is always a strong contender at the SJA’s British Sports Journalism Awards, where he was named as Sports Writer of the Year in 1996. (7)

6.12 Ben Clissitt, sports editor of the Guardian, said: “Paul is one of Britain’s outstanding sports writers and we are delighted to welcome him back to the company. He is knowledgeable, thoughtful and well connected and we are extraordinarily excited about the contribution he is going to make online and in print.” (8) However now to a higher salary and a demand back he is now back to working with the Daily Telegraph.

6.13 He started his career in national newspapers on the Racing Post and has twice been named sports writer of the year at the British Press Awards. So like Lewis he has a niche sport this allows him to reports on more than one subject this is crucial to obtain employment in the Sport Journalism world. (9)

BBC

6.14 The BBC is the country’s principal public service broadcaster and the largest in the world, employing over 20,000 people. (10)

6.15 As well as this the BBC news online website has around 56 million visits per month which again makes Journalists lose readers from a newspaper perspective as with the news right of front of them and people being less pro active it makes it harder for journalists to inactive with their readers. (11)

6.16 Also the introduction of the smart phones and applications that people can acquire from their smart phones has damped the chance of Journalists gaining more readers as again it makes the news to be easier to get access as it is right in front of you.

6.17 However with more blogs, columns and articles online on the top branches of internet, it works in both ways if you only have newspaper experience you lose a lot of readers. But if have adapted to the times of modern technology you gain more readers and became more well known and recognised as journalists and this could leave you to more success and a better job in the future.

SKY

6.18 Sky is the biggest pay subscription broadcaster in the UK.

Research and write a report about the sports writing industry and the skills needed to obtain employment as a sports Journalist. The report with Appendix should include information about successful sports journalists, their skills and personal qualities; employment practices of sports reporting industry by Daniel Clark.

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6.19 They have been at the forefront of sports journalism, having covered Premier League football since its inception in 1992. They have since introduced Sky Sports News, a 24-hour dedicated sports channel.

6.20 In November it was announced that sky has 10 million paid subscribers. (12)

6.21 This again like the BBC helps and causes Sport Journalists problems as most people have sky which makes them analysis and discuss with people what they fought of the match and makes them think how it is going to be wrote on the BBC Sport, how it is going to wrote in the next day’s papers. However if lots of people watch the match some people might not want to read about it making journalists lose readers.

Social Networking

6.22 Social networking is changing the way we communicate, source news and information. Two or the largest social networking sites are Facebook and Twitter.

6.23 Facebook has more than 500 million active users and if it were a country it would be the third largest. (13)

6.24 Twitter has 175 million users. The most followed Sport stars are Lance Armstrong, Andy Murray and Shaquille O,Neil so most people get their news from their tweets rather newspapers from Journalists. (14)

6.25 Modern day Journalists has their own Twitter and Facebook accounts which is used and acknowledged by the superior demand in smart phones across the world so that they tweet stories and publish them on Facebook with regularly update in between events.

6.26 This is because nobody knows what the state of Journalism will be in 5 years time due to the advancement in technology such as social network and smart phones.

According to an early 2010 study by ComScore, over 45.5 million people in the United States owned smartphones out of 234 million total subscribers. Despite the large increase in smartphone sales in the last few years, smartphone shipments only made up 20% of total handset shipments as of the first half of 2010.

According to Gartner in their report dated November 2010, total smartphone sales doubled in one year and now smartphones represent 19.3 percent of total mobile phone sales.Smartphone sales increased in 2010 by 72.1 percent Research and write a report about the sports writing industry and the skills needed to obtain employment as a sports Journalist. The report with Appendix should include information about successful sports journalists, their skills and personal qualities; employment practices of sports reporting industry by Daniel Clark.

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from the prior year, whereas sales for all mobile phones only increased by 31.8 percent.

According to an Olswang report in early 2011, the rate of smartphone adoption is accelerating: as of March 2011 22% of UK consumers had a smartphone, with this percentage rising to 31% amongst 24- to 35-year-olds. (15)

7.0 Conclusion

7.1 To round this up for Journalists today to obtain employment they need to have the correct skills to write for print and to adapt their style and skills to write to the international market of Journalism.

7.2 Facebook has more than 500 million active users and if it were a country it would be the third largest. (16)

7.3 It is likely that the international market is going to get more and more people on the Internet to read stories so Journalists need to be versatile in their approach to Sport Journalism.

7.4 This means to be an successful Journalist the international market has to learn print Journalism as it is still a significant part to becoming a successful Journalist however it also key to adapt these skills and learn Journalistic skills to interact with the online world such as BBC, Facebook and the newspaper online sites such Mail Online.

8.0 Recommendations

8.1 In the 21st century, journalists need to be fast, flexible, accurate and confident working in all platforms.

8.2 Also they need to take part in work experience whether that is a local newspaper or if can get a worldwide newspaper to get work to different style guides like The Guardian or The sun has very different style guides and it is important to adapt to their individual style guides that they use.

8.3 As well as this the international market has to make use of new media such as online blogs, columns to get your self out there to be noticed as Journalists. For example of bloggers that use blog to self promote themselves to gain more readers such as Phil McNulty for blogs about the latest football news (17) and Iain Carter for blogs about the latest golf news giving their views and opinions about their specific sport (18).

Research and write a report about the sports writing industry and the skills needed to obtain employment as a sports Journalist. The report with Appendix should include information about successful sports journalists, their skills and personal qualities; employment practices of sports reporting industry by Daniel Clark.

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8.4 Both developing their craft and getting used to taking constructive criticism from their readers. As well as this developing their own styles underlining their niche sports and markets to gain work experience at highest level of journalism.

8.5 Also having a keen eye on Facebook and Twitter to see how Journalists today uses this websites to demonstrate their craft and how to work in the online market to gain and to interact with readers. (19)

9.0 Bibliography 1: Quote from John May Sport Journalist Lecturer at Southampton Solent University 27/10/11

2: http://www.performingartistes.co.uk/artistes/865/darren-lewis.htm 22/10/11

3: http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Mirror-Man-Darren-Lewis-named-among-the-30-most-influential-black-people-in-football-article107657.html http://www.kickitout.org/blacklist 22/10/11

4:http://www.performingartistes.co.uk/artistes/865/darren-lewis.htm 22/10/11

5: http://www.sportsjournalists.co.uk/sja-journalism-awards/2007-sja-journalism-awards Oliver Holt http://www.sportsjournalists.co.uk/sja-journalism-awards/2008-sja-journalism-awards/ Oliver Holt 24/10/11

5:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Holt 24/10/11

6: http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/opinion/columnists/oliver-holt/Oliver-Holt-column-How-Manchester-United-Rio-Ferdinand-furious-foul-mouthed-rant-at-me-at-Wembley-shows-he-STILL-doesn-t-get-the-point-about-missing-drugs-tests-article745384.html 24/10/11

7: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/article-1093274/Paul-Hayward-Who-stand-Hammers-bubble-bursts.html 26/10/11

8: http://www.sportsjournalists.co.uk/jobs/hayward-returns-to-telegraph-as-chief-sports 26/10/11

9: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/sep/01/paul-hayward-daily-telegraph 26/10/11

10: http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=41884 26/10/11

11: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC 27/10/1112: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_News_Online 15/11/11

Research and write a report about the sports writing industry and the skills needed to obtain employment as a sports Journalist. The report with Appendix should include information about successful sports journalists, their skills and personal qualities; employment practices of sports reporting industry by Daniel Clark.

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13: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BSkyB 27/10/11

14: http://www.heavensports.com/football/top-10-sports-stars-twitter/ 30/10/11

15: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smartphone 15/11/11.

16:http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics 29/10/11

17: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/philmcnulty/phil_mcnulty/ 15/11/11

18: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/iaincarter/iain_carter/ 15/11/11

19: http://twitter.com/#!/ollieholtmirror http://twitter.com/#!/mirrordarren http://twitter.com/#!/paulhayward_gnm 15/11/11

Research and write a report about the sports writing industry and the skills needed to obtain employment as a sports Journalist. The report with Appendix should include information about successful sports journalists, their skills and personal qualities; employment practices of sports reporting industry by Daniel Clark.

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