Churchill Downs Hosts 12th Annual Journalism Seminar

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In conjunction with the media maelstrom that surrounds Churchill Downs in the days leading up to the 129th running of the Kentucky Derby, 40 student journalists and photojournalists representing 31 colleges will be on hand to take part in the 12th annual Collegiate Sports Journalism Seminar. The seminar, slated for April 24-27, 2003, at the legendary Louisville, Ky., racetrack, annually allows a select group of the country's top student journalists to observe and interact with nation's premiere sports journalists, photographers and public relations professionals as they prepare to cover the "greatest two minutes in sports."

During the three-day seminar, student participants will have a chance to network with leading sports journalists and photographers and hear presentations from guest speakers on a variety of sports journalism-related topics. Past speakers have included ESPN hosts Kenny Mayne, Mike Tirico, Chris Fowler and Jeremy Schaap; CBS Sports correspondents Lesley Visser and Armen Keteyian; former Sports Illustrated senior writer William Nack; Washington Post columnist Mike Wilbon; Sports Illustrated photographers Bill Frakes and Heinz Kluetmeier; and Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Dan Dry.

Students also will participate in a daylong sports journalism workshop on April 26, opening day of Churchill Downs' 2003 Spring Meet. During the practicum, students will be assigned stories to cover and deadlines to meet, with their work being published on the seminar's official Web site, www.churchilldowns.com/seminar. A link to the sports stories and photographs compiled by the 2002 class can be found on the seminar Web page.

The Collegiate Sports Journalism Seminar, open to full-time college juniors and seniors in undergraduate programs, is a tuition-free workshop made possible by several sponsors. This year's program is sponsored by Apple Computers, the Daily Racing Form, Kentucky Thoroughbred Association, National Thoroughbred Racing Association, National Turf Writers Association, Nikon, The Blood-Horse, Turf Publicists of America and Triple Crown Productions. Churchill Downs Incorporated ("CDI") hosts the seminar and continues to serve as its principal sponsor.

"With Churchill Downs and horse racing's signature event, the Kentucky Derby, providing a memorable backdrop, the Collegiate Sports Journalism Seminar continues to be a distinctive opportunity to for student journalists to gain outstanding insight and advice from professionals in their chosen field and to practice their craft during the excitement leading up to America's longest, continuously held sporting event," said Julie Koenig Loignon, CDI's director of communications. "We are constantly amazed by the quality of students elected to participate in this important grassroots program, which is designed to reach out to the sports journalists of tomorrow and give them a one-of-a-kind introduction to the 'Sport of Kings.' We have selected another promising group of students for the class of 2003 and look forward to this year's program."

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