Article on Brendan Hall

     Students of Professor Mary Carey’s Newswriting and Reporting class gathered in the W.E.B. DuBois Library on Monday to listen to a special guest speaker: the High School Editor of ESPN Boston, Brendan Hall.

     

     Hall, himself a graduate of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, answered questions about his journalism career and provided advice to the aspiring journalists on how to be successful in the field.

     

     While he was in college, Professor Carey encouraged Hall to get some experience in writing, which inspired him to start covering stories for the Massachusetts Daily Collegian.

    

     After graduating from UMass in 2007, Hall explored several jobs primarily covering high school sports.  He worked at the Boston Globe as well as the Worcester Telegram and Gazette, where he had interned as a student.

    

     In May 2010, Hall landed himself a position covering high school sports for ESPN Boston, an opportunity he was very excited about.

     

     “(At only) 25-years-old, I landed where a lot of sports editors dream of being,” said Hall.

    

     Hall appreciates working at ESPN Boston because he is allowed considerable creative freedom and because he feels his coverage is very unique, since high school sports aren’t frequently covered by ESPN.

     

     “We put a lot of time and effort into this to make it what it is,” said Hall.  “It takes a special kind of person to be as devoted to high school sports as we are.”

     

     All the same, Hall feels that one of the best things about his writing position is that he gets to watch talented young journalists, who come to ESPN Boston as interns, grow and “develop to go on to do bigger and better things.”

     

     Hall suggests that aspiring journalists broaden their horizons, making themselves well-rounded in the various types of journalism so that they are capable of covering any story that comes their way.

     

     “You want to make sure you have a wide cornucopia of things you cover,” said Hall.  “I was never out of work for long because I had my hand in so many dishes…Make sure you cast a wide net (and) have a diverse portfolio.”

     

     Having heard this, it was a surprise to Professor Carey’s students when Hall admitted that he had no experience in broadcasting before he was hired at ESPN Boston.  He explained that practice is key in the field of journalism and that through practice he was able to improve his broadcasting skills over time.

     

     “The only way you’re going to get better (is through) repetition.”

    

     Hall also addressed the problem of keeping articles brief, yet expressing all the necessary points.  He suggested using a writing style that would keep the reader interested throughout.

    

     “You don’t have a lot of room.  You’ve really got to reel the reader in tight.”

     

     Lastly, Hall suggested that the aspiring journalists take every opportunity they are given to cover a story, not only for the practice, but because it is impossible to tell where an interview will go or how an event will turn out.

    

     “Once the moment is gone, it’s gone forever,” said Hall.  “There’s no taking it back.”

By Shelby Ashline

Brendan Hall

The first thing Brendan Hall, a University of Massachusetts Amherst alumni and high school sports writer for ESPN Boston, showed the group of Journalism 300 students on Monday was a press conference he had attended over the weekend. Brendan Durkin, a boy with down-syndrome, had scored had scored the last basket in the final seconds of the Newton North game. Afterwards, there was press conference that Durkin got to speak at.

Most reporters had left the game early. Newton North was a favorite to win and proved so. Some groups didn’t even send reporters. But they missed out Durkin’s special moment. “Honest to God, one of the coolest things I’ve ever done, being a part of that press conference,” said Hall in his heavy Boston accent to the class.

Hall then went on the show the class similar stories. A story about the Bruins game that happened after the Boston Marathon Bombing and the way people were connected. Another about the Mansfield Coach’s speech to his basketball team after they had just lost a big game.

And although he showed the class the team stats pages he and his colleague Scott Barboza had done, featuring all the teams in Mass and talked about the different kinds of recaps they did, the focus seemed to be on the people.

It wasn’t just about the numbers and the game itself, but also about the people inside the sports. And it was more so about the special moments. “Certainly motivates you to write something special. When it happens, you kick it into a different mode.”

Hall didn’t start out at ESPN, and wasn’t always a sports writer. While at UMass, he worked on The Daily Collegian writing not only about sports but also wrote the beat for the UMass police and some arts pieces. “You got to cast a large net,” said Hall as advice to the class, going on to say that having diversity in your work shows dedication and flexibility.

While at school, he has did three internships, including the Boston Globe. He graduated with a degree for journalism. He then got a job at Worcester Telegram and Gazette and later as a correspondent at the Boston Globe. By then, he has found his niche as a high school sports writer which he had discovered while doing the internship at the Boston Globe.

He then, along with now colleague Barboza, helped create the high school page for ESPN Boston. Though it was launched in 2009, and Hall joined the project in 2010, he has had a lot of influence by making sure that all the sports teams are covered, not just the ones in the immediate area. The teams are all accounting for, even Martha’s Vineyard.

“100 years from now, people are going to pull up your account, and that’s the coolest thing for me.”