**History of Sports Journalism**

- 850 B.C.E.: Greek writer Homer mentions the first known wrestling draw.
- Pioneering Period 1785-1835: Obscure sports journalism, with mentions of swimming and
early newspaper articles.
- Growing acceptance: The mid-1800s saw increased sports coverage, especially with the
introduction of baseball.
- The Golden Age: Sports journalism gained importance in newspapers during this period, with
separate sports departments and sports editors emerging in the 1870s.
- 1890: A turning point for sports journalism with the introduction of many sports, including
basketball.
- Continued Expansion: In the 1930s, executive sports editors were hired, and sports cartoons
became prominent in the 1940s.
- 1945: The creation of the Associated Press sports wire brought sports into the national
spotlight.
- 1950s: The advent of television significantly increased sports coverage, making newspapers a
secondary source for sports news.

**The Profession of Sports Journalism**

- Sports journalism is a specialized field within journalism that involves journalists writing
reports on various sporting topics.
- Some media outlets are entirely devoted to reporting sports in a newspaper format, such as
L’Equipe in France, Marca in Spain, and Bild in Germany.

**Key Skills**

To excel as a sports journalist, several key skills are required:

1. Qualifications: Sports journalists need relevant educational qualifications.

2. Valid Sources: They must rely on credible sources for accurate information.
3. General Knowledge: A strong understanding of sports and related topics is essential.
4. Multi-media Skills: In today's digital age, proficiency in various media formats is crucial.

**Types of Sports Reporting**

There are various types of sports reporting, each with its unique focus:

1. Play-by-Play Account: Requires deep knowledge of the game, including rules, player details,
and plays.
2. Lead Stories: Focus on highlights, significant plays, crucial games, and star performers.
3. Brief Sports Stories: Emphasize the score, winner, key incidents, and game outcomes.
4. Sports Features: Offer a broader range of subject matter and creative freedom in
presentation.
5. Advance Sports Stories: Provide background information on upcoming games.
6. Follow-Up Stories: Analyze the aftermath of games, discussing player conditions and
statistics.
7. The Sports Column: Focus on fair and constructive commentary and may highlight athlete
performances.

**Writing Sports Coverage**

Key considerations for sports reporters include punctuality in covering events, capturing crowd
reactions, and obtaining essential facts like the game's final score.

**Parts of a News Story**

A sports story has a lead and a body:

- The Lead: The attention-getter, followed by the body.

- Summary Lead: Answers the 5 W's and 1 H (Who won, how, against whom, by what score,
where, and when).
- Traditional Sports Lead: May highlight the game's significance, spectacular plays, heroes,
unusual circumstances, or human interest.
- Novelty Lead: Describes the action promptly and delivers the reader to the sports scene.

**Characteristics of a Sports Writer**

A sports writer should:

1. Have a "nose for news."

2. Have an interest in all sports events.
3. Know the rules and regulations of the event or game they are writing about.
4. Have a working knowledge of sports lingo.

**Qualities of Sports News**

Sports news:

1. Answers the 5 W's and 1 H.

2. Describes the most thrilling and eventful part of the game.
3. Uses colorful words, adjectives, figures of speech, local color, and longer sentences.
4. Uses special vocabulary called sports lingo.

**Overview of the Kinds of Sports News**

Advance News gives advance information about upcoming events and includes expected
contents.