Sports Journalism

Sports journalism combines the professional craft of journalism with a deep understanding of sport as one of the most powerful and commercially significant forces in contemporary culture. The journalist's core skills, gathering information accurately, writing under deadline pressure, telling stories clearly and compellingly, and operating within the ethical frameworks that underpin responsible reporting, are as important in sport as anywhere else. What distinguishes sports journalism is the added requirement to understand sport deeply: its rules, its personalities, its business structures, and its place in the social and cultural life of communities.

At the University of Brighton, this three-year full-time programme includes a sandwich year with work placement and work placement opportunities throughout, giving it a strongly practical orientation. The placement year is central to the programme's value: it puts you in real newsrooms, broadcast studios, sports organisations, or digital media companies where you apply the skills you have developed and gain the experience that employers say is most important when hiring early-career journalists. Throughout the academic parts of the programme, you will develop skills in news writing, feature journalism, broadcast reporting, digital and social media, interviewing, and media law and ethics.

You will also study the commercial structures of professional sport, the relationship between sport and media, and the role of sports journalism in shaping and reflecting public culture.

Brighton's location in the South East gives you access to a range of sporting and media organisations, and the university has good relationships with employers that support the placement programme.

Graduates work in newspapers and magazines, television and radio broadcasting, online sports media, club and association communications, public relations, and sports marketing. The combination of journalistic skills, sports knowledge, and practical placement experience makes graduates competitive in a field where relevant experience is at a premium.