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The differences between sports writers and journalists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a sports writer and a journalist. Additionally, a journalist has an average salary of $60,828, which is higher than the $36,041 average annual salary of a sports writer.
The top three skills for a sports writer include SEO, game coverage and feature stories. The most important skills for a journalist are news stories, multimedia, and story development.
| Sports Writer | Journalist | |
| Yearly salary | $36,041 | $60,828 |
| Hourly rate | $17.33 | $29.24 |
| Growth rate | -10% | -10% |
| Number of jobs | 16,981 | 11,488 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 83% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A sportswriter is responsible for delivering facts about ongoing sports happening around the world. They must be familiar with athletes such as footballers and swimmers. Sportswriter must understand not only sports but also the biographies of athletes. The core concern of a sportswriter is to write in a plain and understandable style.
A journalist is responsible for creating written correspondence, covering various subjects as the management requires. This task involves a lot of research investigations, conducting interviews, and gathering reliable sources to verify the authenticity of data before releasing the articles on news portals and other social platforms. Journalists should have excellent communication skills, both written and oral, conveying information to the target audience with high accuracy and efficiency. They analyze opinions and testimonies, create eye-catching headlines, and ensure adherence to deadlines.
Sports writers and journalists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Sports Writer | Journalist | |
| Average salary | $36,041 | $60,828 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $51,000 | Between $38,000 And $95,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | - | New York |
| Best paying company | - | Bloomberg |
| Best paying industry | - | Finance |
There are a few differences between a sports writer and a journalist in terms of educational background:
| Sports Writer | Journalist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 83% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Most common major | Journalism | Journalism |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between sports writers' and journalists' demographics:
| Sports Writer | Journalist | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 82.6% Female, 17.4% | Male, 46.6% Female, 53.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.6% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 13.2% Asian, 8.8% White, 66.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.6% Asian, 9.6% White, 66.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |