Columnist to sports journalist
A columnist already meets 76% of what the sports journalist role asks for. The move turns on 3 required skills not yet in the profile.
32.3/ 100
1 How much of what a sports journalist is expected to do is already part of a columnist’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the sports journalist role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A sports journalist role treats 20 of its required skills as things a columnist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- apply grammar and spelling rules
- build contacts to maintain news flow
- consult information sources
- copyright legislation
- develop professional network
- digital journalism
What stands in the way is 3 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 38 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A sports journalist role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a columnist background worth leading with.
- already held rewrite articles communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held follow newspaper house style assisting and caring
- already held digital journalism social sciences, journalism and information
- already held promote one's writings communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held write captions communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held stay up to date with social media information skills
All 38 carried skills, including the 20 the sports journalist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 18 missing skills fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn sporting events required
- still to learn sport games rules required
- optional, not held table tennis optional
- still to learn sports competition information required
- optional, not held ask questions at events optional
- optional, not held edit digital moving images optional
- optional, not held follow directions of on-site director optional
- optional, not held present during live broadcasts optional
- optional, not held adapt to changing situations optional
- optional, not held communicate by telephone optional
- optional, not held edit negatives optional
- optional, not held edit photographs optional
- optional, not held edit recorded sound optional
- optional, not held perform video editing optional
- optional, not held perform image editing optional
- optional, not held pronunciation techniques optional
- optional, not held sport history optional
- optional, not held audio editing software optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a sports journalist role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 sporting events study this
- 02 sport games rules study this
- 03 sports competition information study this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 38 skills that carry over
- already held apply grammar and spelling rules skill
- already held build contacts to maintain news flow skill
- already held consult information sources skill
- already held copyright legislation knowledge
- already held develop professional network skill
- already held digital journalism knowledge
- already held editorial standards knowledge
- already held evaluate writings in response to feedback skill
- already held follow ethical code of conduct of journalists skill
- already held follow the news skill
- already held grammar knowledge
- already held interview people skill
- already held interview techniques knowledge
- already held participate in editorial meetings skill
- already held spelling knowledge
- already held stay up to date with social media skill
- already held study topics skill
- already held use specific writing techniques skill
- already held write to a deadline skill
- already held writing techniques knowledge
- already held ICT software specifications knowledge
- already held adapt to type of media skill
- already held apply desktop publishing techniques skill
- already held check correctness of information skill
- already held create online news content skill
- already held desktop publishing knowledge
- already held document interviews skill
- already held follow newspaper house style skill
- already held manage personal finances skill
- already held manage writing administration skill
- already held multimedia systems knowledge
- already held press law knowledge
- already held promote one's writings skill
- already held proofread text skill
- already held provide written content skill
- already held rewrite articles skill
- already held write captions skill
- already held write headlines skill
15 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held table tennis optional
- optional, not held ask questions at events optional
- optional, not held edit digital moving images optional
- optional, not held edit negatives optional
- optional, not held edit photographs optional
- optional, not held edit recorded sound optional
- optional, not held follow directions of on-site director optional
- optional, not held perform video editing optional
- optional, not held present during live broadcasts optional
- optional, not held adapt to changing situations optional
- optional, not held audio editing software optional
- optional, not held communicate by telephone optional
- optional, not held perform image editing optional
- optional, not held pronunciation techniques optional
- optional, not held sport history optional
7 held skills the sports journalist role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role economics knowledge
- not needed by the target role ensure consistency of published articles skill
- not needed by the target role political parties knowledge
- not needed by the target role political science knowledge
- not needed by the target role present arguments persuasively skill
- not needed by the target role rhetoric knowledge
- not needed by the target role stock market knowledge
7 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn sporting events required
- still to learn sport games rules required
- still to learn sports competition information required
- optional, not held table tennis optional
- optional, not held audio editing software optional
- optional, not held pronunciation techniques optional
- optional, not held sport history optional
Common questions about this move
Can a columnist become a sports journalist?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A columnist already covers 76% of what a sports journalist is expected to do: 38 skills carry over, 20 of which the sports journalist role treats as required.
What skills does a columnist need to become a sports journalist?
3 required skills are missing, plus 15 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by services. The single most important is sporting events.
How hard is the move from columnist to sports journalist?
Its learning distance is 32.3 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.