SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — While 20 teams from across the globe compete for the championship at the Little League World Series, one team of Penn State student journalists is partnering with The Associated Press to cover the event.
The annual partnership provides hands-on experience for talented students and high-quality content (photos, stories and videos) for the international news organization. The AP, founded in 1846, is a nonprofit news organization headquartered in New York City that operates as a cooperative with news reports distributed to members across the United States and the world.
As part of a collaboration with the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism, housed in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications, Penn State students provide content from the World Series, which continues until Aug. 24.
“We’re fortunate to have an international sporting event like this basically in our backyard,” said John Affleck, the Knight Chair in Sports Journalism and Society and director of the Curley Center. “It might be an opportunity borne of proximity, but our students’ professionalism and talent consistently shine through. They bring major league talent to the Little League World Series.”
This year’s contingent of student journalists covering the Little League World Series includes Sam Balkansky, Caleb Craig, Jared Freed, Kate Hildebrand, Amanda Vogt and Alexandra Wenskoski.
They’ll work closely with Affleck and fellow faculty member John Pendygraft, an assistant teaching professor of journalism and award-winning photographer, on their contributions to the AP’s coverage. Affleck is a former AP editor currently serving as a professor and head of the Department of Journalism at Penn State.
Their AP coverage started with an overarching story at the outset of the World Series. Game coverage, feature stories and photo contributions from students will continue throughout the event.
Along with the student journalists partnering with the AP, a separate cohort of Bellisario College students are completing internships with Little League International during the summer and as part of the World Series. That partnership has been in place since 2019.
The Little League World Series attracts thousands of visitors to central Pennsylvania every year while millions of viewers from all over the world watch the games on television.
This year’s internship cohort includes Maya Bieling, McKenna Kerr, Emery Kratchman and Elstasia Ray.