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May 23 / Matt Faulconer

A career in sports media can go way beyond the press box

Matt FaulconerA lot of people think working in sports media is just sitting in a press box, enjoying the buffet and tweeting about what’s happening at a sporting event.

I grew up dreaming of working in sports, and I always thought it would be that easy because I loved nearly every sport. I do love my job, but I was way off with that assumption.

After four years in the business, I’ve never actually enjoyed the perks of sitting in a press box and I don’t know that I will. But I’ve learned that people who work in sports media—in or out of the press box—don’t just work for two or three hours during a game but all day leading up to the game and afterwards as well.

As a content analyst my main job is to create content plans and provide real-time support for our breaking news team and our sport specific editors. I’m responsible for making sure that content published during major events and breaking sports news is optimized properly for search.

Since the launch of B/R UK I’ve also taken on the role of global planning and providing real-time Analytics support for our global iniatives.

It’s more than following the game and providing a recap these days. During major sporting events, I work on my days off. I work 12-hour shifts, and I don’t work a normal Monday-to-Friday schedule. When I say my life revolves around sports, I mean it. Sports media is a 24-hour, 365-day business, and sports don’t take days off. Christmas? NBA games. Thanksgiving? Football. July 4th? We have a hot dog eating contest to worry about covering.

Many of my friends think my job is completely stress-free. They think all I do is sit in a recliner, watching sports. They think it’s crazy when I tell them I have to get up at 7 a.m. for work when there aren’t any games in the morning.

Working in sports media isn’t all fun and games. It’s not the easiest job on the planet. But it is one of the most fun.

Despite the long hours, the workload, the weekend shifts and all that comes with working in sports media, I wouldn’t trade my job for anything.

I’ve worked multiple positions with Bleacher Report over the last four years and each of them requires a strong work ethic and schedule flexibility. If you want to be successful in the sports media world, you have to be prepared for a crazy life.

It’s not easy, but it’s worth the sacrifice.

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Matt Faulconer is a Content Analytics Analyst for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @Matt Faulconer10.

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Filed under On media
  • John

    Matt: Excellent post! I totally agree with you and, I believe, this is a great message that recent college graduates can learn from — especially those in journalism (and media, in general). Get your foot in the door, work hard and explore all the possibilities that media has to offer. As you noted, you thought sports journalism was your dream job, but once you did it, you found out that it wasn’t exactly what you wanted. The great news is, there are other avenues in promotions, marketing, analytics, graphic design, IT, production, etc. that make great careers. I get frustrated when I see reports that a communications or journalism degree is irrelevant. Not true — it could be the ticket to an opportunity you’d never considered before.

    • Matt

      Hey John:

      Thanks for the comments – I wouldn’t say that I found out sports journalism wasn’t my dream job. It wasn’t what outsiders think it is, but I love every job I’ve held in sports journalism over the last few years and my current role in Analytics is definitely my dream job.

      You make a great point though that communications / journalism degrees are not irrelevant. I actually majored in Political Science and wanted to parlay that into a job on Capitol Hill. Don’t think the degree you get matters too much anymore, as long as you get one and can show you have a strong work ethic you can achieve your dream job no matter what major you picked when you were 19 years old.