Jesse Horne joined the 9NEWS sports team in August of 2007 as a backpack journalist, with an emphasis on absorbing as much high school sports as possible. His resume is not filled with exotic stations and other eye-popping ports of call. Instead, it's filled with an astronomical number of hours finding the stories that matter to a community.

A native of Wisconsin, Jesse started as a sports writer for the Chippewa Herald in Chippewa Falls, Wis. in the summer of 1995. There, he learned and did everything from writing stories to taking game photos and laying out pages "the old-fashioned way" - without a computer.

Jesse's first stint in television started in 1997 at WQOW (ABC) in his hometown of Eau Claire, Wis. He learned the tricks of the trade and was not afraid to do anything that was asked of him. Jesse's time there included a few trips to the "Frozen Tundra" of Lambeau Field. He was on the sidelines for the late Reggie White's final home game for the Green Bay Packers.

Then, he headed to the Deep South and was part of the morning show staff at WAGT (NBC) in Augusta, Ga. Jesse's time there was filled with many 4 a.m. breakfasts from Waffle House, but he also was on hand for some major news stories, including the 2000 South Carolina primary and the lowering of the Confederate flag from the South Carolina state capitol.

While at WAGT, Jesse helped cover the Daytona 500 and, of course, the Masters. He received a Georgia Association of Broadcasting award for his work on a story about NASCAR legend Richard Petty.

In 2000, Jesse came back to Wisconsin and joined the sports staff of the Stevens Point Journal in Stevens Point, WI. There, he served as beat writer for UW-Stevens Point athletics and saw Pointers athletics shine. This included going to two NCAA Division III Final Fours for the women's basketball team, seeing them win it all in 2002.

Jesse kept his broadcasting skills sharp while he was in Stevens Point, volunteering at WWSP-FM – the radio station on the UW-Stevens Point campus. He hosted a DJ shift each Monday and filled in on the evening jazz-oriented show "Jazzsides." For a time, he also hosted a sports-talk show focusing mainly on the campus and state teams.

He was behind the mic providing play-by-play and analysis for several UW-Stevens Point sporting events. In this role, he was "convergence" before it became a buzz word in journalism. He would provide the radio call of the game, then write the game recap for next day's newspaper.

At WWSP, Jesse also created several commercials and proudly assisted with the station's annual Trivia contest – dubbed "The World's Largest Trivia Contest." 

In 2004, Jesse became assistant sports editor for four newspapers in central Wisconsin – the Wausau Daily Herald, Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune, Marshfield News-Herald, and Stevens Point Journal. The circulation area for the four papers spanned close to 40 high schools and his knowledge of the local teams was helpful in bringing readers a detailed look at prep sports.

Jesse moved to Oshkosh and became sports editor of the Northwestern in 2006. While there, he became part of the paper's web video team. Jesse's "Hoops Highlights" during the basketball season gave Web viewers a big-time feel to the local high school games. The season culminated when Oshkosh West repeated at Division 1 state champions.

His time at the Northwestern was busy right to the end. On his final day there, he flew in a vintage Chinese fighter plane and covered a fatal crash of two P-51 Mustangs during the annual EAA AirVenture convention. All in a day's work.

When he is not on the clock, Jesse enjoys spending time with his wife, Melanie, and their 3-year old cat, Tommy. He loves kicking back to jazz and eating fine cuisine - and that includes some Wisconsin cheese curds. Of course, Jesse also keeps an eye on the sports teams back home - from the state's Division III colleges to the Milwaukee Brewers and Green Bay Packers.

For any prep sports tips, contact Jesse Horne
jesse.horne@9news.com
303-871-1849