About

Syracuse University Students Cover the 2026 Empire State Winter Games

Students from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications ventured to Lake Placid, New York, for the 2026 Empire State Winter Games to take part in a hands-on program focused on professional sports journalism, digital content and visual storytelling.

More than 20 journalism, photography and video students produced more than 1,000 photos, videos and audio stories throughout the Games while publishing their work to this website, which is built specifically to support live, deadline-driven coverage. The team also included social media and public relations producers who worked with Games communications officials.

The 46th Empire State Winter Games brought together thousands of competitors in more than 30 winter sports from Feb. 5-8, making it among the largest multi-sport amateur winter athletic events in North America. The program is supported through the Newhouse Sports Media Center.

During the Games, graduate and undergraduate students covered multiple competitions each day at venues in Lake Placid and across the Adirondack region, including the Olympic Center, Mount Van Hoevenberg Olympic Complex and Dewey Mountain Recreation Center.

According to project director Seth Gitner, associate professor of magazine, news, digital journalism, and visual communications at the Newhouse School, the intensity of covering a multi-day sporting event pushes students far beyond the pace of a typical weekly class assignment. Students are constantly adapting, learning new sports, working in changing conditions and producing work under real deadlines.

Working alongside photo assignment editor and Newhouse executive editor Jon Glass, students edit, caption, and upload images daily, following the same workflow used in professional newsrooms. 

Glass explains that the goal of the program is to replicate a working newsroom environment, where students operate as professional photojournalists and are responsible for delivering publishable work on deadline.

This website makes the students’ work available to media outlets across the Northeast for local and regional coverage. The collection also serves as a visual archive of the Games for athletes, families, and fans.

2026 Staff

Still Photographers

Becca Beckas

Troy Conner

Reed Granger

Jack Henry

Alexa Hernandez

Cassie Roshu

Collin Snyder

Adeline Taylor

Isaac Williams

Ike Wood

Sky Zhuang

Filmmakers

Ethan Hernandez

Maggie Robinson

Charlie Scott

Josie Smith

PR Coordinators

James Bruneau

Cecilia Catalini

Brooke Vaccaro

Digital Producers

Arietta Hallock

Lauren Jones

Audio Producer

Brooke Killgore

Directors

Seth Gitner

Jon Glass

Alumni Coach

Zachary Ornitz