Getting into the sportswriting game: Try things and be flexible

Here’s a short video from the Ryerson University School of Journalism in Toronto about a recent panel on the subject of breaking into the sportswriting business.

I like what Tas Melas of the The Basketball Jones had to say in an off-panel interview.

“Before you say you don’t like something in particular,” Melas said, “just try a few things, and then practice that craft and get really good at it. And if you’re not good at it, move on to something else.”

What I think he’s talking about is not embarking on your career with a preconceived notion about what it means to be a sports journalist, as in saying something like “I will be a writer of important prose pieces. I’m not interested in doing TV or video work.”

Keep an open mind and be flexible. That seems like a smart idea when you’re entering an industry that’s in extreme flux. What do you think you might be good at that you haven’t tried yet?