How to hire a sports reporter

How to hire a sports reporter, step by step

Here's a step-by-step sports reporter hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a sports reporter job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new sports reporter
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a sports reporter, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a sports reporter to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a sports reporter that fits the bill.

   The following list breaks down different types of sports reporters and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Sports Reporter	Description	Hourly rate
   Sports Reporter	Reporters, correspondents, and broadcast news analysts inform the public about news and events happening internationally, nationally, and locally. They report the news for newspapers, magazines, websites, television, and radio.	$32-65
   Anchor	A news anchor is a journalist who informs the public through reports of events and news stories. News anchors educate the public about the world, local, and national events... Show more	$19-57
   Video Journalist	Video journalists make videos conveying the news and factual stories for the audiences. Their day-to-day duties may vary but typically include editing, researching, and reporting, developing and planning live or taped video segments, and compiling data from various sources... Show more	$19-53

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Twitter
   • Facebook
   • Feature Stories
   • Sports Coverage
   • Sports Stories
   • News Stories
   • Instagram
   • Local Schools
   • Game Coverage
   • Sports Content
   • Softball
   • Soccer
   • Local Sports
   • Game Stories

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage the day-to-day production of the Olympics section as needed.
   • Assist with play-by-play commentary for local high school sports including: football, soccer, volleyball, baseball, and basketball.
   • Cover games for the men's ice hockey and basketball teams, as well as, the women's soccer team.
   • Earn repeated commendations for excellence in writing, reporting, photojournalism and infographics.
   • Produce yearly 30-minute football shows for state championship teams.
   • Host of Voces del Deporte & Almuerzo Deportivo daily radio programs on ESPN Deportes Miami.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your sports reporter job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A sports reporter can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, sports reporters' average salary in south carolina is 76% less than in washington.
   • Seniority. Entry-level sports reporters 51% less than senior-level sports reporters.
   • Certifications. A sports reporter with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a sports reporter's salary.

   Average sports reporter salary

   $96,119yearly

   $46.21 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level sports reporter salary

   $67,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 5, 2025

4. Writing a sports reporter job description

   A sports reporter job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a sports reporter job description:

   Sports reporter job description example

   NHL/St. Louis Blues reporter
   
   The St. Louis Post-Dispatch is looking for a versatile, hard-charging and digitally focused hockey writer to help lead our St. Louis Blues coverage. This is a chance to cover a competitive NHL team in a dynamic region with a strong hockey fan base. This is a premier sports reporting position in our area, but your work will also be seen by fans across the country.
   
   We want a reporter who is comfortable in all facets of a sports beat, from game coverage, to breaking news, to player profiles, to strong analysis. The job entails a full range of pre-season, in-season and playoff coverage, and we're open to new ideas on how to best cover the team on our digital platforms. The position includes responsibilities such as podcasts, live chats and videos. A strong social media presence is a must.
   
   Three to five years of experience handling a major sports beat is preferred.
   
   If you're interested in joining our award-winning sports staff, in a city that is a hotbed of sports, please include a resume and 7-8 samples of your work.
   
   Why Join Us?
   
   Lee Enterprises offers competitive wages in a dynamic, interesting work environment with career growth opportunities. We offer an extensive benefit program that can be personalized to your needs. Our benefit program includes medical, dental, vision, short and long-term disability, company provided life insurance and supplemental life insurance. In addition, we offer a 401K retirement plan with company match. We also offer generous paid time off to allow the flexibility to balance personal life and work. This includes paid parental leave for new parents.
   
   Lee Enterprises is a leading provider of high-quality local news, with 77 daily newspapers in 26 states that have print, digital and e-replica versions. Lee's newspapers have a combined circulation of more than 1.2 million daily. Our digital sites attract more than 44 million unique visits monthly. We also have a rapidly growing roster of digital products for consumers, and are committed to aggressive digital growth.
   
   Lee Enterprises is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to attracting and retaining a workforce whose diversity reflects the communities we serve. Lee embraces change, and we recognize that we must create and maintain a culture of fervent inclusion. For more information about Lee, check us out at www.lee.net.
   
   We are focused on building a diverse and inclusive workforce. If you are excited about this role but do not meet 100% of the qualifications above, we encourage you to apply.
   
   Other details
   
   * Job Family News
   * Pay Type Hourly
   
   Apply Now
   
   * St. Louis, MO, USA

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find sports reporters for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your sports reporter job on Zippia to find and recruit sports reporter candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as problogger, media bistro, journalismjobs.com, content writing jobs.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting sports reporters requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new sports reporter

   Once you've found the sports reporter candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new sports reporter. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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