MIDDLETOWN, Pa. — Penn State Harrisburg communications major Caleb Steindel recently earned third place in the College Media Association’s 2023 Film and Audio Festival sports category for a video package he produced about the college baseball team.

Steindel produced the piece through his work as sports director for the "Nittany Watch" broadcast magazine show and host of the first student-produced sports show at the college, “Nittany Watch Sports.” He also is sports editor for the Blue & White Journal, the college’s student newspaper.

The show and newspaper are the product of the student media practicums (COMM 1 Newspaper Practicum and COMM 4 Broadcast Practicum) students can take for two credits a semester, up to four times during their academic career. Robert Nulph, assistant teaching professor of digital media, entered Steindel’s piece in the College Media Association competition and said Steindel earned the award against tough competition.

“His package was very competitive due to his ability to tell a story, the use of excellent visual elements to support the narrative, his knowledge of the game, and a very polished narration,” Nulph said. “His interviews and standups were spot on and provided for a solid complete professional-quality sports package. This is the first of what I hope eventually will be more awards won at the national level for our student media.” 

Steindel remembered having some luck when producing the piece — he arranged an interview with one baseball player and subsequently found more players willing to talk and give him additional perspectives he could add to footage of the team. After he found out about his award, he was surprised to learn the size of some of the schools he competed against.

“That was kind of wild,” he said. “That made it more special.”

Steindel said he wants to work in sports media. He’d love to be a sports analyst at a major network someday but expects to start at a more local level.

Working in student media at Penn State Harrisburg has helped him to round out the skills he needs to pursue that career, he said, noting that the media industry will expect him to be well-versed in multiple skills, from writing to video.

“I feel like this has helped me actually get the hands-on experience I need,” Steindel said. “I’m going to do exactly this in the real world.”