The emergence of the internet has led to an increase in sports news articles. They can be found on newspapers, magazines, websites and blogs. Many people who are interested in writing find that sports are an excellent subject to cover. It is familiar and popular, and there is always something happening in the world of sports. There are several typical forms of sports articles, from event recaps to feature profiles. Regardless of the sport or article type, there are methods, do’s and don’ts to follow to write well.
Sports journalism has a long history in the United States. It began with the establishment of The Sporting News in 1886, one of the first newspapers to focus on baseball and horse racing. It eventually broadened its coverage to include a variety of other sports, including football, basketball, hockey, tennis and golf.
While today’s newspaper sports pages have largely become promotional vehicles, with live television coverage of games, they can still provide detailed retellings of sporting events. For example, Pete Davies’ All Played Out helped readers relive the 1990 World Cup, while Mark Frost’s The Greatest Game Ever Played gave them a blow-by-blow account of the 1913 US Open.
Sports journalism can also be an investigative medium, uncovering scandals such as doping, fixed races and bribery in international athletics. Award-winning writers such as Duncan Mackay and Steven Downes have unravelled these scandals. As a result, sports journalists must be careful to maintain impartiality in their work, especially when reporting on high profile events such as the Olympics and football World Cups.