McCarriston Plots Her Course:Broadcast Dreams Begin with the Navigators

By Cary Shuman

Shanna McCarriston is pictured with her grandfather, Lynn TV sportscaster John Hoffman, at Fraser Field.

Shanna McCarriston is pictured with her grandfather, Lynn TV sportscaster John Hoffman, at Fraser Field.

Shanna McCarriston is doing what she loves this summer and that is working in the world of sports.

McCarriston is a press intern in social media and conducts post-game interviews for the North Shore Navigators. She is also working in the WBZ-TV Channel 4 sports department as an intern.

A 21-year-old senior at Quinnipiac University, McCarriston is majoring in broadcast journalism and has an anchor position on the college television station, Q-30.

You’ll certainly recognize the name of her grandfather, legendary Lynn sportscaster John Hoffman, who has been the voice of local sports for 35 years. McCarriston impressed everyone with her remarks at a testimonial for her grandfather last year at the Nahant Country Club.

Mr. Hoffman helped his granddaughter reach out to the Navigators and Shanna said the experience has been educational and eye-opening, learning from professional baseball executives such as general manager Bill Terlecky.

“Mr. Terlecky is great – he really looks out for the fans, the players, and interns – those are the categories I really see,” said McCarriston. “He knows everyone in the press box by name. He’s been great to work with.”

At Channel 4, she’s working alongside on-air sports personalities Steve Burton, Dan Roche, and Levan Reid and senior sports producer Jackie Connally.

In addition to logging at-bats for Red Sox games in the studio, McCarriston has also gone out in to the field for events such as a Boston Celtics clinic for students. “I got a video of [No. 1 draft pick] Jaylen Brown dunking on a kid, which was really funny,” reported McCarriston, who will be assisting the station at Patriots’ preseason training camp. “Football is my favorite sport, so I’m looking forward to being in Foxboro for their training camp.”

A graduate of Marblehead High School, McCarriston is a talented dancer, having taken dance lessons at Mitchell’s Dance Studio in Beverly.

There is no question that her well-known granddad inspired her interest in sports at a young age.

“Ever since growing up, I knew what he [John Hoffman] did and I would be the little kid running around in the studio during his television sports show,” said McCarriston. “He and my parents [Richard and Christine McCarriston] never pushed me in to sports journalism. It was just one of those things that I was always around and always interested in.”

McCarriston said she would often be at her grandmother Jean Hoffman’s house and her grandfather would return from a game and say, ‘you have to hear about this play and he would really paint the picture for you and I was always so intrigued by what he did.”

At the age of 14, Hoffman gave his granddaughter her first announcing assignment, appearing in the booth for a baseball game at Fraser Field and later an English-Classical Thanksgiving game.

“I just loved doing the announcing,” said McCarriston, adding that her younger sister, Jenna, wants to follow their father, a police officer, into the field of law enforcement. “My parents have been so supportive, always helping me out.”

McCarriston said one of her role models is Emmy-winning television sports journalist Andrea Kremer. “I’ve had the opportunity to meet her in Marblehead. As far back as I can remember, I would watch her on television and say, ‘I want to do that.’’’ “She’s given me some great advice.”

McCarriston will be spending the fall semester in Los Angeles where she’ll be interning with a television production company.

“This summer has been all about sports so I’m excited to add something in entertainment to my resume,” said McCarriston.

She will graduate from Quinnipiac next May. “It’s been a great experience. It’s a big hockey school and I was able to go to the Frozen Four with my friends. The Q-30 TV station has really prepared me well for television and I enjoy doing it. I don’t feel like it’s work because it’s so much fun.”

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