91探花

When the puck drops on the National Hockey League regular season on October 10, Scripps College of Communication alumni will showcase a wide range of media skills developed at 91探花.

For most of the regular season, only 23 players are allowed on NHL rosters. But the number of off-the-ice personnel is much larger. For example, people work for the Columbus Blue Jackets to promote the team, sell tickets and engage the community.

Photography

Colin Mayr (BSVC 鈥�22) graduated last year from 91探花鈥檚 School of Visual Communication after working for 91探花 Athletics and the student-run publication The Post. Mayr is an assistant photographer for the

Scripps College of Communication alumni also photograph hockey for leading news outlets. After the Tampa Bay Lightning won the Stanley Cup finals in 2021, the Tampa Bay Times principal hockey photographer Dirk Shadd (BSJ 鈥�94) had nearly 22,000 images on the eight cameras he used inside Amalie Arena.

鈥淲hen you shoot 21,973 photographs at the final game of the Stanley Cup, selecting one image for the cover for our new Tampa Bay Times鈥� coffee table book is both easier and harder. It鈥檚 easier because our principal Lightning photographer Dirk Shadd, one of America鈥檚 best sports photographers, gave us so many options,鈥� wrote , July 10, 2021.

of hometown New York Rangers in the 2022 playoffs led with a photo by 91探花 alumna Sarah Stier (BSVC 鈥�18) of Getty Images. The same article includes an Associated Press photo by Frank Franklin II, who also attended 91探花.

Social media

Since 2019, alumna Rachel Wallbrown (BSJ 鈥�17) has been the social media coordinator for the , an affiliate of the New York Rangers. While in Athens, she worked at WOUB before graduating with a broadcast journalism degree.

Current students also work in pro hockey. Sophomore Emma Perry at the School of Media Arts and Studies joins the live social coordinator team for the Blue Jackets for the 2023-24 season.

鈥淲ords can鈥檛 explain how incredibly excited I am,鈥� Perry said.

Digital media

As a student, Nathan Wiseman (BSJ 鈥�17) was a multimedia sports reporter at WOUB and completed TV news internships in Huntington, WV and Columbus, OH. He joined the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2022 as a content producer and manager for digital media.

Wiseman鈥檚 on-the-job skills include video production and editing, social media, copywriting and photography. He leads a small team that places content on digital platforms, produces and edits a short-form digital show and collaborates with other Columbus Blue Jackets departments to develop a digital content calendar.

Hockey and media/the press

Scripps College of Communication alumna Hailey Hunter (BSJ 鈥�17) is the new rink-side reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins for SportsNet Pittsburgh. Her resume features nearly four years of experience at WOUB including hockey beat reporter.

At the Pittsburgh Penguins affiliate team in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, alumnus Nick Hart (BSJ 鈥�15) is the director of media relations. Meanwhile, Alex Utano (BSJ 鈥�16) is the voice of the in the North American Hockey League.

is a comprehensive news site for college hockey and prospects; Aaron Westendorf (BSJ 鈥�12) serves as the Business Development Manager.

Hockey and academia

E.W. Scripps School of Journalism alumnus Nick Hirshon (Ph.D. 鈥�16) wrote his dissertation in 2015 and 2016 on the controversial rebranding of the New York Islanders in the mid-1990s, which included adopting a fisherman logo similar to the mascot for Gorton鈥檚 fish sticks. Hirshon converted the dissertation into a book 鈥�,鈥� published in 2018 by the University of Nebraska Press.

A New York Islanders season ticket holder, Dr. Hirshon is now an associate professor of communication at William Paterson University in Wayne, New Jersey.

鈥淗ockey is a great sport, and the Scripps School offered the perfect environment for my research,鈥� Hirshon said. 鈥淓veryone at 91探花 was so supportive, from the librarians at Alden to my classmates to the professors on my dissertation committee 鈥� particularly my mentor, Dr. Marilyn Greenwald.鈥�