Thanks to generous sponsorship from the Hambletonian Society, the United States Harness Writers Association’s Clyde Hirt Journalism Workshop kicked off on Wednesday, July 30 as the week of the 100th Hambletonian got underway.
This year’s four students were given a tour of the Harness Racing Museum and Hall of Fame by Kristin Roberts, whose thorough knowledge of the exhibits always make for a very interesting presentation. Then, USHWA member Ellen Taylor facilitated getting the students a ride behind a harness-bred horse with a lap or two around the half-mile oval in jog carts at Goshen Historic Track.
Following a short break, the students made their way to the press box at The Meadowlands, where each wrote a Hambletonian advance story while under the guidance of mentors Debbie and Dave Little and Ken Weingartner, who are all U.S. Communicators Hall of Famers, as well as Standardbred Canada’s Director of Digital Communications Jeff Porchak, and harness writers Nicholas and Garnet Barnsdale.
Thursday’s scheduled activities started with a visit to the New York Post, where the students had their advances edited by Post staff, followed by an evening tutorial, led by Nicholas Barnsdale, on how to watch and describe the action in a harness race and transfer that information into a story while being mindful of the typical terms that are standard in harness racing media coverage.
The busy workshop week continued on Friday with a visit to New York Giants training camp, where the students watched practice from field level, then honed their skills by interviewing some players at the end of the morning’s activities. They spent the night at The Meadowlands watching the races, preparing for the big day on Saturday.
Each student will get a chance to write a story on Hambletonian Day. Their work will be published in the Asbury Park Press, Boston Globe, The Saratogian and The Trentonian.
This year’s workshop students have impressed the advisors already. Emily Cain is a rising junior from Ohio University who majors in Journalism Strategic Communication and Sport Management. Konner Hines is a rising junior from Baldwin Wallace University who majors in Marketing and International Business. Jesse Singer is a recent graduate of Rutgers University who majored in Journalism and Media Studies, and Carlos Jimenez, another recent graduate of Rutgers University, also majored in Journalism and Media Studies.
Advisor and workshop organizer Debbie Little indicated that she was impressed with this year’s group.
“They are catching onto it really fast, and it was impressive how they churned out good stories on Wednesday night in their first try not knowing even the slightest thing about the sport of harness racing,” said Little.
Nicholas Barnsdale, who is a graduate of the Hirt Workshop and has volunteered as an advisor for the past five years, concurred.
“This could be the sharpest group we have had since I became an advisor,” said Barnsdale. “All four of them are excellent writers.”
The workshop continues through until this year’s Hambletonian is raced and the students’ stories have been filed.
For Emily Cain’s advance in the Boston Globe, click here.
For Konner Hines’ advance in the Asbury Park Press, click here.
For Jesse Singer’s advance in the The Saratogian, click here.
For Carlos Jimenez’s advance in The Trentonian, click here.
(USHWA)