Sports have a hold on the entertainment industry, as it seems like we are constantly seeing sports bleed into the public view.  One of the many reasons sports play such a big role in American culture is because it is so popular, and it’s popularity is only rising. As we move into the future, more and more jobs in sports become available. Everyone seems to want a piece of the entertainment king that is American sports. 

One of the people who wanted a piece of the pie that is sports was a young JR Radcliffe. One of the many job opportunities (and perhaps one of the biggest) is a journalist. Journalism is a key part of our society, and it has been that way since the beginning. So it makes sense that journalism would find itself involved in sports, too. 

JR Radcliffe is a sports journalist for USA Today and has been writing about sports since his involvement in his college’s newspaper. His love for sports started at a very young age, but he understood he wasn’t the greatest athlete so he decided he would move in the direction of sports journalism. He knew he wanted to be a journalist not long after the beginning of his teen years. This was his career path and he was certain of it despite him “not knowing how many benefits there are,” as he said in our recent interview. 

One of the benefits Radcliffe recognizes is that he gets to watch, talk, and report on sports which, like many other people in the world, is his favorite source of entertainment. Another benefit (and possibly the best benefit) Radcliffe can’t deny is the flexibility his profession provides, which we know from when he said, “This job I have is very flexible.” 

Radcliffe claims there are some major downsides in his career choice as he said, “The hours can be tricky. They can be long and you do not get paid well in this field.” Another flaw in the field, as Radcliffe pointed ou,t is, “especially right now there is a lot of pushback for journalists in general.”

Despite the flaws that Radcliffe knows come along with his career, he still has many joyful moments throughout his career. One of his stories on the Marquette University Mascot is among his proudest pieces of work. 

Radcliffe has elevated through the ranks of journalism as he now writes for USA Today covering stories such as the Brett Farve scandal, which is a major topic of discussion within the sports world. He has come a very far way from his beginnings as a High School sports writer, but even then he was able to cover prime-time athletes like Tyler Herro. Most of his career has been spent stationed in Milwaukee, which has been an up-and-rising hot spot for sports in recent history. Despite not being the most interesting city, as Radcliffe claims, he has had access to stories about some of the greatest athletes of our generation such as Aaron Rodgers, Davante Adams, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and many more. 

Sports is only growing bigger as recent events have had even more viewers than before and despite journalism being a “dying” profession, it is still a prominent factor in the spreading of news in the athletics world. JR knows his limited knowledge of social media and technology, in general, will eventually outmatch his skill as a news writer. He claims the best advice he could give to a young writer looking to follow a similar career path as he did and to “keep up with the times.”

Journalism will continue to provide news and information regarding sports for a long time and JR Radcliffe will be a part of that sports journalist community. He will continue to contribute to the leader of the entertainment business, which is sports. His career is already well established as he has brought the world many iconic stories and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Athletics runs American entertainment and JR Radcliffe plays a small yet important role every day as he gives us more and more stories about the thrilling industry of sports.