The Life of a Sport Journalist ... Sheefeni Nikodemus
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The Thrill, The Anticipation, The Excitement, sporting events have a way of drawing us in even when it’s not convenient and so becoming a sports journalist was a no-brainer for the avid Namibian Newspaper journalist, Sheefeni Nikodemus. With all the emotions that sports evidently manage to stir up, exactly what does it take to become the man behind the story.
“I'm an enigma. Can't really place myself as this or that personality wise. Guess that's why I'm a journalist”, says Nikodemus. Nikodemus has always had a passion for sports having participated in long and high jump athletics during his school days and now playing social football as an attacking midfielder every weekend. “I have a passion for sports and I felt the need to contribute to its development in my country.” Says Nikodemus, “I've done other beats, like arts and politics but once I eventually got to the sports desk, there was no other alternative”.
The sports journalist whose favorite sport is Football and a big fan of the soccer team Chelsea FC. Also, citing his top sports comeback as Liverpool's 2005 UEFA Champions League final turnaround, were Liverpool moved upwards of a 3-goal lead by the other team and won the match through penalties.
Writing sports stories is no easy task as you have to be very timely and able to engage your audience at the same level as though they were taking account of the events themselves. For Nikodemus who predominantly covers local sports events and occasionally international as well, the daily diary sessions in the newsroom, help him to prioritize what stories are current and of biggest public interest.
Diligent, inquisitive, fair, generous are just some of the qualities attributed to the journalist responsible for some of the Namibian Newspaper’s most prominent sport’s stories, he also prides himself on being able to work best under pressure.
When questioned about how best to develop relationships with athletes in the sporting industry, Nikodemus revealed that athletes are most comfortable around someone that is able to talk to them like a regular person, this is the best way to make them open up. So, for all our prospective sports journalist out there, you better be sharpening up your people skills.
From an avid interest in sports starting at a young age that grew into a job in the industry, Sheefeni Nikodemus proves that to be able to tackle a thrilling beat as sports you have to be very passionate about it and very people oriented
