Sports Journalism Courses in India

Last Updated on July 30, 2023 by Vishnu Nambiar

Do you want to become a sports journalist? If yes, this post will be of help to you. Here, I’ve listed down some of the best sports journalism courses in India.

If you are passionate about sports, these programs will be of help to you. These courses will lead you to a profession that is closely tied to sports.   In this post, you will find the names of best sports management courses in India. Apart from the names of courses, you will also find additional details such as – course details, duration, eligibility, colleges, syllabus and more.   Before heading to the meat of the matter – list of sports journalism courses in India – let us check out basic details about this domain/trade. What is sports journalism all about? What’s it like to specialize in this field? What’s the nature of work like?   You will find answers to these questions in the next section –

What is sports journalism?

Before heading to sports journalism, let us check out the broad domain called journalism. Journalism is closely tied to mass communication.   We rely on mass communication to obtain news, information and updates about events. TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, websites, news portals, digital media entities – we rely on these sources for news, updates about events and information.   Mass communication deals with the transfer or exchange of information from the point of origin/source to a large audience. There exists different sources through which information is exchanged. Some such sources are – TV, radio, news websites, radio etc.   Journalist is a professional who collects the news, writes or distributes it to the public through any medium of mass communication. The person who collects, writes and distributes news is known as a journalist.   When it comes to news, the point of origin is almost always away from the large audience. Journalists play a huge role in collecting information, editing it and distributing it among mass audience.   Journalism is a broad field. It consists of different areas of specialization. Sports journalism is one such area of specialization.   Sports journalists deal with sporting events. They cover sporting events, teams, organizations etc. They cover matches, sporting events and write/prepare/curate/distribute sports news. TV channels, newspapers, web portals, sport blogs, radio – sports journalists are employed by different forms of mass communication.   We love following sports news and updates. We rely on TV, newspapers, web portals and apps for keeping tabs on sporting news and events. Have you ever wondered who collects sports news, writes articles related to sporting events and passes it on to you? Sports journalists are responsible for these activities!   They can be seen covering sporting events live from the venue, writing detailed analysis and columns, contributing to online portals etc. Sports journalism is a vast field. It consists of different sub-disciplines and sub-branches.   Based on these sub-disciplines and sub-branches, a sports journalist may don roles such as –

• Sports reporter
• Sports journalist
• Sports photographer
• News reader
• Anchor
• Event host
• Editor
• Commentator
• Broadcast specialist
• Camera operator
• Columnist
• Analyst
• And more…

It is not uncommon to see sports journalists travel all over the world, following sports teams and sporting events. Based on their job profile, they may also carry relevant equipment such as – cameras, broadcast equipment etc.   On the other hand, anchors, news readers and event presenters spend large chunk of their time in the studio. They perform tasks such as – analysis, news reading, hosting events etc.   In short, this discipline offers different types of job profiles and opportunities. You may don a job profile that involves outdoor activity and traveling. On the other hand, you may even don a role that involves studio work or behind the scenes stuff (broadcasting technology, technical aspects etc).

Types of courses

In India, there exists different types of sport journalism courses. Looking from academic level’s point of view, these courses can be classified into the following types –

• UG level
• PG level
• Doctoral Degree level

UG stands for undergraduate level. PG stands for postgraduate level.   Most of the sports journalism programs belong to PG level. UG level programs normally focus on the broad domain of journalism. But these UG programs are relevant nonetheless. So I’ve also listed these courses in this post!   Looking from course format’s point of view, sports journalism courses in India can be classified into the following types –

• Bachelor’s Degree
• PG Diploma programs
• Master’s Degree programs
• PG Certificate programs
• M.Phil. and PhD programs

How to become a sports journalist in India?

If you want to build a career in this sector, possessing a relevant academic qualification will be of help to you. You may pursue sports journalism programs or regular journalism and mass communication programs to enter this domain.   In order to thrive in this domain, you must possess qualities such as – love for sports, good communication skills, confidence, in-depth knowledge of sporting events etc.   It is not uncommon to see people enter this domain without possessing relevant academic degrees/qualifications! For example, many sports journalists started off as hobbyist bloggers, contributors and columnists Their love for sports made it possible for them to turn their hobby/passion into their profession!   Come, let us check out the list of courses. Here they are –

List of sports journalism courses in India

1 PG Diploma in Sports Journalism

As the name suggests, this is a postgraduate level academic program. The main aim of this course is to develop skilled sports journalists.   The course could be anywhere between 1-2 years. The academic program will train you in areas such as – communication skills, mass media, sports journalism, sporting events, writing skills etc. Graduates who have completed relevant Bachelor’s Degree course are eligible to pursue this course.

2 PG Certificate in Sports Journalism and Mass Media

As the name suggests, this is a postgraduate level training program. Graduates who have completed relevant Bachelor’s Degree course are eligible to pursue this course.   Course duration may vary from one institute to another. It could be anywhere between 6-12 months.

3 BJMC

BJMC stands for Bachelor of Journalism and Mass Communication. It is an undergraduate level Bachelor’s Degree course. Students who have passed 12th class are eligible to apply for admission.   This academic program doesn’t focus exclusively on sports journalism. But it does deal with journalism. After completing this course, you may enter the domain of journalism. With time, you may work your way towards sports journalism sector and build a career in this sector.

4 MJMC

It stands for Master in Journalism and Mass Communication. It is a Master’s Degree course. Students who have completed relevant Bachelor’s Degree course are eligible to pursue this course.   This academic program doesn’t focus exclusively on sports journalism. But it does deal with journalism. After completing this course, you may enter the domain of journalism. With time, you may work your way towards sports journalism sector and build a career in this sector.   For an exhaustive list of journalism courses, you may check out this guide – list of journalism courses in India.

Syllabus

Here are some of the core subjects covered under sports journalism curriculum –

• Basics of sports journalism
• Mass media technology
• Sports events
• Writing skills
• Communication skills
• Computer application
• Project work
• Internship

Colleges

Here are some of the popular colleges that offer these courses in India –

• DU
• Gujarat University
• IGNOU
• SGSU, Gujarat
• KU
• RKU
• Rajasthan University
• University of Mumbai

Fees

Tuition fees depends upon factors such as – type of the college, type of course, rating and reputation of the college, scholarship status of the student etc. Depending upon these factors, tuition fees could be anywhere between 25-100K INR.

You may also check – Sports Management courses in India

Career Prospects

As I mentioned before, sports journalism is a vast sector. It generates multiple job profiles and opportunities. Sports journalists are usually hired by –

• TV channels
• Radio stations
• Sports blogs and portals
• Digital Media firms
• News portals
• Newspapers
• Sports magazines
• Sports publications

In the above mentioned setups and establishments, they may don roles such as –

• Sports reporter
• Sports journalist
• Sports photographer
• News reader
• Anchor
• Event host
• Editor
• Commentator
• Broadcast specialist
• Camera operator
• Columnist
• Analyst

Vishnu Nambiar

I am Vishnu Nambiar a career and educational blogger from India. I am also a full time educational consultant having more than 12 years of experience in the educational sector.

I share articles related to courses, colleges, careers, exam tips and more here.