The Top Sports Writing Jobs And Videos For Week Of March 25, 2009

J. Chad Barnett, Contributing Writer

Visit the Jobs Page for updated job postings.

Hello everyone, and welcome to my jobs/video special. Once again, sorry for the gap between posts, but I'm working on some things to make the blog better. Your e-mails and comments help me exponentially, so keep sending them please.

Here are my Top Five Sports writing Jobs:

1. Read the page from top to bottom and you may find a very good opportunity for a writer interested in providing material for an on-line sports site.
2. Writer needed for top magazine in Charlotte, NC. Competitive pay!!!$$$$
3. Company needs articles about NFL/NCAA, NBA/NCAA, and Baseball submitted weekly. Good pay for quality articles.
4. Once again, read the page from top to bottom. Some good leads for magazine writers in various categories.
5. Online blog service looking to hire many writers for such subjects as sports, technology, etc. Hourly pay based on experience and quality of submitted work.

Most everyone watches the news from time to time. So this weeks videos are some of my favorite interviews and news clips. Just more proof that this job can be stressful, entertaining, and very, very funny at times. Enjoy!

Sometimes celebrities and reporters just can't get along.


Then again, reporters have bad days too.


Then there are the things that are completely out of anyone's control.


That's all for this week. Hope you've enjoyed the post. Write on!

"You have your way. I have my way. As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way....it does not exist."--Friedrich Nietzsche(1844-1900)German-Swiss philosopher and writer

Sportswriter HQ Update

J. Chad Barnett, Contributing Writer

Sorry about the down-time everyone. I've been working on some new things for the blog. Tomorrow I will be posting a video/Top 5 Jobs combination. Should be interesting. I'm still working on that link list for you too. I've received some good requests from readers and will be answering some of them in time as well.

So be on the lookout for new material and some good posts about writing too. Please keep sending your requests and posting comments. It enables me to know what you like and what you want to know about. Think of it as Burger King. I want to do it your way. Write on!

"Sow a thought and you reap an action; sow an act and you reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character; sow a character and you reap a destiny."--Ralph Waldo Emerson(1803-1882)American poet and lecturer

Top Sports Writing Jobs For Week Of March 11, 2009

J. Chad Barnett, Contributing Writer

Visit the Jobs Page for updated sports writer and blogger postings.


Sorry for the delay everyone. My wife and I celebrated our birthdays this past weekend. Her's was March the 7th, and mine was the 9th. Fear not though. I have some good jobs this week, plus I threw in a bonus freelance job I think you'll enjoy.

1. Major sports blog needs writers for part-time and full-time positions.
2. If you love Fantasy Baseball (as well as the real deal of course) and want to write about it, this is the job for you.
3. Blogging company needs writers for sports, entertainment, and much more. Pay is based on experience.
4. Top-notch company seeking experienced writers for web content and print! A great opportunity for the right applicant. $$$$$$$$
5. If you already have a sports blog or are thinking of starting one, this could be a good source of extra revenue, and get you some site promotion to boot.

Bonus
Write reviews for print, magazine, and broadcast media. Pay starting at $200 per month. This is not a sports related job.

That does it for this week. Next week will be another 5 and 5, so don't miss out!

"I have tried simply to write the best I can. Sometimes I have good luck and write better than I can."--Ernest Hemingway(1898-1961) American Writer

My Top Three Sports Videos For The Week: More Crazy Sports Videos

J. Chad Barnett, Contributing Writer



You asked for more and here they are. My picks of the week. Enjoy!

Sports bloopers and out-bursts done German style. I have no idea what they are saying, but the clips are great!



These guys define "Unsportsmanlike conduct."



This is a good collection of different clips. Some, funny, some painful, and some downright awesome footage here.



That's it for this week. Keep sending your requests and I'll keep answering them.

"I like to write when I feel spiteful. It is like having a good sneeze."--D. H. Lawrence(1885-1930) English Writer

My Top Three Sports Videos Of The Week: The Insane, Miraculous, And Funny Collection

J. Chad Barnett, Contributing Writer



Everyone needs a good laugh (and a good cringe) now and then as far as I'm concerned. So here is a compilation of some of the most insane, miraculous, and downright funny moments in sports. Enjoy.





This last one is not for the squeamish. Be warned!!



"The difference between fiction and reality? Fiction has to make sense."--Tom Clancy

Top Sports Writing Jobs For Week Of February 23, 2009

J. Chad Barnett, Contributing Writer



There seemed to be an influx of job postings this week. One again I have sifted through them and found my favorites for you.

1. This one is merely for experience. Not much pay, but you have most of the control over your posts.
2. Someone's dream could come true at this Video Sports Journalism job. Good pay, and a career.
3. A variety of sports are covered on this blog-site. Passion for sports is a must!
4. You can become a Sports Marketing Project Manager if you land this job. $$$$$$$$$
5. If boxing is your sport of choice, then this is the job for you. Not many positions though, so you'll have to fight for it!

That's it for this week. Next week will be a 10 job special! I'm going to do 5 sports writing jobs, and 5 regular freelance writing jobs! Become a subscriber, and keep track of events so you won't miss out. It's just going to get bigger and better! Enjoy the journey.

"We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations."--Charles R. Swindoll

News Flash: How To Write A Good Press Release

J. Chad Barnett, Contributing Writer

As a freelance writer, sports writers especially, being able to construct a good press release is a valuable asset. It's almost an art form in itself. Mainly because you have to capture the reader's attention, and then parlay enough information in as few words as possible, but make them want more. Let me explain a bit.

Press releases are short news stories. They are written in the third-person, and are used to demonstrate to an editor, journalist, etc. whether a story is newsworthy or not. Press-releases can be about various things including, people, sporting events, places, and so on.

I have compiled a few tips to help you create a good press-release.

The Title

1. Look at the title as your personal marquee sign. In as few words as possible, describe what your press-release is about. Make it compelling and attention-getting!
2. Address your audience in the title whenever you can.
3. Include the phrase "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE" at the top of the page.
4. Always use present-tense.
5. The first word of the Headline and all proper-nouns should be capitalized.

The Body

1. For credibility, begin with the date and the city the press release is from. (i.e. Concord, NC February 18, 2009)
2. The first couple of sentences (2-3) should sum-up the press release, and everything following should elaborate.
3. It is important that the first paragraph contains the where, when, why, what, who, and how.
4. Press releases are double-spaced and should be at least a page, but no more than two pages.
5. If using company info, include a brief description of the company, it's business policy, and core function.

The Conclusion

1. Simply put, the conclusion should be a couple of sentences that tie the press-release together.
2. If possible, provide links to more information that supports the release.
3. ALWAYS include either "###", or "-30-" centered on the bottom of the last page.

Make sure that you proofread your press release a few times before submitting it. Editors don't like mistakes.

Everyone has their own style when writing press releases, however, the core format is the same. Following this simple outline will help you with the basics. Now you just have to put a little of your own uniqueness into it and see what happens.

"We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master."--Ernest Hemingway

Top Sports Writing Jobs For Week Of February 16, 2009

J. Chad Barnett, Contributing Writer

There are some good jobs this week. Somebody's dreams are about to come true, I can feel it!

1. Freelance sports writers needed in 21 major cities. Check the list and apply!
2. Major League Baseball looking for freelance/full-time reporters and columnists for website. $$$$
3. Georgia based company is looking for sports bloggers. Proficient and professional applicants a must. Top pay!
4. Awesome site where you can post on various subjects and get paid for your posts. No out-of-pocket cost! Money to be made here.$$$$$$$$
5. L.A. based magazine seeking freelance writer for Extreme Sports. Could turn permanent.

That's all for this week. Thanks to all of you who sent in requests. Keep on sending them, and I will answer as many as I can.

Till next week:
"Writing is the only thing that, when I do it, I don't feel I should be doing something else."--Gloria Steinem

Helpful Videos For Freelance Sports Writers

J. Chad Barnett, Contributing Writer

I love scanning other websites for helpful information pertaining to the writing industry. On occasion I find nice little gems to share with my fellow writers.

While scanning YouTube today, I came across a couple of videos that nicely describe some of the aspects of being a sports writer. I think they are worth the watch, and they are not long so it won't take to much of your time.

1. Short job description for sports writers.



2. The pros and cons of sports writing.



3. Information on the pay for a sports writer.



I'll keep searching, and if anyone has any suggestions, leave a comment or contact me via e-mail.

"The difficulty of literature is not to write, but to write what you mean; not to affect your reader, but to affect him precisely as you wish."--Robert Louis Stevenson

Blogs: A Great Way to Promote Your Writing

Sure, blogs are a dime a dozen. A penney a dozen is more like it these days. But, there are comparatively few that offer great content for their readers. Establishing a blog with solid content that is useful to readers/users is a welcome site.

They are also great places to promote and link to your other work. Also, the more inbound links to your articles, the higher the Google PageRank, which shows the popularity of your work and impacts the search engine ranking. Every web page is ranked by Google. Each page has a ranking from 0 to 10. The higher the better. One way to increase is through linking.

Linking provides you with needed page views, which means more readers, possible ad revenue, popularity, etc.

If you already have some articles/an article on the Net, set up a blog. It's free. With blogspot, you can place your own ads, Google Adsense, or some other ad server and earn income from it. It won't be much at first, but handled in the right way and with determination, it will be.

Great Online Sportswriting Outlets II

Aside from Suite101.com, another good place to write is HowtoDoThings.com. Although they don't offer positions such as "Feature Writer," they do have some perks.

A smaller site than Suite101.com, HowtoDoThings.com is growing and articles enjoy good readership. Usually it seems, the more articles you write for a particular site, the better your search engine ranking (especially if you're interlinking articles, marketing on social networking sites, forums, blogs, etc.)goes up. At HowtoDoThings.com, my page views began receiving good traffic right away.

Another perk is that writers are purported to get 50% of the ad revenue earned from click-throughs on articles. There's a twist to the 50% rule. Say one click-through from one of your articles earns .50, you don't get .25 and HTDT.com gets .25. The rule is that half the time you get the click throughs and half the time HTDT gets it. In other words, on a particular page load, it might be your turn to get all ad revenue for that page load, or it might be HTDT.com's turn. I haven't gotten a good explanation for when it's my turn and when it's theirs.

Everything considered, it's a great place to write. They've featured one of my articles on their home page, How to Get Golf Lessons, and plan to feature my profile there as well. Both are good boosts to traffic. They're a pleasure to work with and responsive to questions. Good site for which to write.