The areas of sports journalism and sports communication both offer exciting and challenging roles in the sporting industry. Contrary to popular belief, they are not the same thing. Let’s take a brief look at what each entails and the main differences between them.
Key aspects of sports journalism
Sports journalism refers to roles that involve researching sporting news stories or reports of events. Journalists may produce written, radio, or broadcast reports. This sector also incorporates photojournalism roles. A sports journalist may work for a newspaper, magazine, radio station, or television station. A sports journalist may also work for an internet-based news or sports website. Those wishing to become a sports journalist can consider sports journalism courses from providers such as the School Of Journalism.
Key aspects of sports communication
Sports communication covers a broader spectrum of roles in the sporting industry. This might include sports journalism but may also pertain to jobs in sports PR, marketing, and internal communications roles. Communications may involve fan engagement on social media, which is a growing area of activity for sports teams. For those who are not entirely sure which role they would like to pursue, a qualification in sports communications provides a wider scope; what’s more, students have the option to specialise later.
Main differences between sports journalism and sports communication
The main difference between these two areas is that sports journalism comes under the umbrella of sports communication, whilst the latter is a broader umbrella term. Journalism focuses mostly on researching and reporting, whereas communication encompasses both this and activities such as PR, social media management, sports marketing, and internal communications. As an example, a sports communication qualification may offer entry to sports journalism, but a sports journalism qualification may not qualify someone to enter a PR role.
Whilst there is an overlap with the concepts of sports journalism and sports communication, the former refers to the narrower selection of roles and responsibilities of a journalist whereas the latter is a far broader area with more varied roles.