The Envoy

A student-ran initiative dedicated to filming and broadcasting Hunter events is transforming media on campus while providing opportunities to students.

Hawk Productions, led by media studies student David Horn, aims to help students gain beginner-level experience in broadcasting. Horn also serves as the host of Where Hunter College Speaks (WHCS) Radio show, “Hawk Athletics,” and the CUNY Uncut podcast.

Horn is assisted by other media majors, such as Ray Rahim, Marvin “Kota” Jiminez, Robert Rada, Luis De Leon, Nick Mawhinney, Irwin Mok, Linda Yu, Brandon Denny, and Brandon Mantuano. Their first streamed production was a men’s basketball game quarterfinal in February 2024, hosted in the Sportsplex. 

For The Envoy, Victory Ogunnaya interviewed Rahim and Horn on the evolution of the team and creating a community for broadcast journalism at Hunter.

This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

What led you to start Hawk Productions?

Horn: I had already been working in the athletics department and wanted to expand the broadcasts to have announcers and cameras like we see on TV. I also noticed that within the media department, students were having a tough time with finding internships and jobs with the current market and lack of attainable experience available. I figured that it made sense to try and combine the two. 

Rahim: I was working in one of the Film and Media Tech offices at the time when David Horn, who I had known from a class we had taken together, was looking for some tech help on how to expand the Hawks broadcast from their initial sole Canon camcorder set up.

From there, me and a couple of other FM [Film and Media] students jumped on. We combined resources from our various departments, a small switchboard from our tech office, and a couple of underused cameras from the rental office and arrived to make something interesting.

The WHCS Radio Snow-pen Mic Night, which Hawk Productions live-streamed.

Why do you think so many people are interested in helping out?

Horn: I think people have been drawn because of the direct hands-on opportunities. You are thrown right into the fire in the best way. The students are familiar with each other because they take the same classes and go to the same school. It is a really convenient opportunity.

Rahim: The Hawks Production team is the only area where sports media is pushed at Hunter. Besides a sole sports reporting class in our media department, there isn’t much overlap between sports and the FM department.

Have you branched out into other subjects? What other productions have you filmed?

Horn: We have filmed different events for the school’s radio station WHCS Radio, who have held events such as their Battle of the Bands and their Snow-pen Mic. We also filmed a Blues Jam for the Office of the Arts in the assembly hall. We are looking to film any and all events that we can manage! If someone were to come up and say “We would like to have our event filmed,” we will do our best to do exactly that for them.

Rahim: I have been a part of the crew for two award-winning short films and have worked live events such as the Macy’s Fireworks show, or various comedy shows throughout the city, but I have always been drawn to sports. Especially with the advent of AI and the fear that comes with it for Film and Media, I believe that sports will continue to ever expand, and will always require talented personnel to keep the show going, not the shortcuts that AI might take over in creative works.

I noticed you always end streams with credits to everyone who helped, including “other” staff. Why do you do that?

Horn: Credit should be shown where credit is due. The members of the production team work so hard and dedicate their time to helping us out so the very least that we can do is thank them. 

Rahim: We hope that students can use these opportunities for their reels and resumes and can point to them as a grand striving force for their careers. It also helps us recruit more personnel, by letting viewers see that they too could be involved in the broadcast. Our team is ever-expanding, anyone and everyone can be a part of it as long as they’re willing to listen and learn!

The Hawk Productions livestream of Hunter vs University of Massachusetts-Boston women’s basketball game on Nov. 23, 2024.

What are your plans for the future of Hawk Productions?

Horn:  I would love to do even more events of different varieties and to just get people involved. I really enjoy having everyone along for the ride and want to see each person grow and hopefully use this opportunity to get a job or spring into whatever is next for them. 

Rahim: I am hoping to begin to develop a short documentary on the creation of our production team and how we have grown and aided students who weren’t initially aware of the advent of sports media. It’s still in its very early development, but I look forward to showcasing the background of how we get our games to our viewers.

What would you like the Hunter community to know about Hawk Productions going forward?

Horn: You can always come to help out on a broadcast and learn. We are looking to teach and give people experiences that can be hard to come by. We are always looking for the next thing to film.

Rahim: And if you don’t want to be a part of the crew, at least attend or view one of our games live, and see the immensely talented Hawks teams that we are showcasing week by week! Watch more Hunter sports, Hunter College!

For more information on how to join the Hawk Productions team, interested students can text 914-413-0753.