Sports Writing in
Journalism
By Catherine Watson – DHS Student
Sports Writing
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The basic idea of sports writing in journalism
is to report about the local (or national)
sporting events occurring.
Whether big or small, all events should be
covered.
Covering Events
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The point of a sports article is to focus on the
important events that occurred during the
game and the outcome of the game.
Record the most important or exciting parts.
Readers find those the most interesting.
Deciding What to Cover?
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Try covering all teams at least once in good
detail.
Cover as much as you can about each sport or
team in each issue.
Consider all successes
In a feature, cover outstanding players and/or
achievements
Deciding What to Cover?
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Leave some space for off campus sports.
Students want to know about the non
sponsored school sports and the local
professional teams too!
Make sure it’s newsworthy and Timely
Remember: Readers would rather know the
why and how rather than the who and what.
Writing Sports Leads
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Most stories have events that occur in order.
It should be that the most interesting or
exciting thing that happened during the event
is mentioned first.
What to Avoid in Your Lead
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Date of the game- On Wednesday, the wrestling
team will…
The name of the school or team- The Davis High
Darts basketball team will…
Obvious facts- Once again it is volleyball season…
Any opinion- The baseball team played their best
game of the whole season…
Non-newsworthy facts- The swim team competed in
the state finals last week…
Sports Writing Pointers
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Make sure all of the events are coveredespecially the important ones!
You need to have “new information”
especially if your paper doesn’t print for a
while. The more facts you have, the better.
Take notes of key players, injuries, strengths
and weaknesses of both teams.
More Pointers
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Provide information about both schools.
Everything you know about your school
should be known about the other school as
well.
Know names. The players and coaches have
names- use them!
Use the inverted pyramid when putting your
story together.
Reporter Guidelines
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Understand the game. Stay updated on the rules and
terms used.
Get to know everyone involved. Whether they are
players, coaches or managers, they all give you the
best information for your story.
Watch, take notes and observe everything about the
game.
Catch up on the history of the team. Know what
they’ve done in past years.
More Guidelines
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http://www.ehow.com/video_4401325_writegood-sports-journalism.html
This video gives a basic idea of what is
expected when writing good sports
journalism.
Interviews
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Understand what you are interviewing about.
Asking “what do you do?” may offend
someone you’re talking to.
Know who your interviewee is and their name
before you talk to them.
Have an idea of who you want to interview
during the game, then take notes specifically
about them to ask them questions about it
later.
Questions to Ask
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What challenges has the team faced?
What made the season exciting?
Who were the most challenging opponents?
What were the strengths and weaknesses of
the team?
What are the future goals of this team?
What were the
accomplishments/disappointments of the
year?
Works Cited
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Hall, Homer, and Logan Aimone. High School Journalism.
New York: Rosen , 1986. Print
Danesco, B.. "Writing Sports Articles: Tips for Article
Writing." howtodothings.com. N.p., 2011. Web. 3 Jan 2012.
<http://www.howtodothings.com/hobbies/a4594-how-towrite-a-sports-article.html>.
Spencer, Jamal, perf. How to Write Good Sports Journalism.
ehow, Web. 10 Jan 2012.
<http://www.ehow.com/video_4401325_write-good-sportsjournalism.html>.
<http://www.ehow.com/video_4401325_write-good-sportsjournalism.html>.