News Photo by Julie Riddle Alpena News intern Ben Ackley interviews a source at his desk on Tuesday.

ALPENA — A new set of computer keys are clacking as The Alpena News welcomes summer intern Ben Ackley to its newsroom.

Ackley joins The News as part of an internship program placing Central Michigan University students with local newspapers, and will cover a variety of topics for The News.

Students in the program produce content for both the newspaper and WCMU Public Radio. This summer, eight students have been planted in towns across the state, beginning their on-the-ground work on Tuesday.

These newsrooms are focused across central and northern Michigan, including Alpena, Bad Axe, Big Rapids, Cadillac, Greenville, Leelanau, Midland, and Traverse City.

With one more year of college to go, Ackley, 21, is working toward a bachelor’s degree in applied arts in journalism with a minor in multimedia design.

A native of Mason, 20 minutes south of Lansing, Ackley has never seen as many off-road vehicles as Northeast Michigan has to offer. Though drawn to the cacti, pueblos, and cowboys of the American Southwest — and hopes to someday work at the Bob Dylan Archive in Tulsa — Ackley anticipates a summer of meeting interesting people in Northeast Michigan and telling their stories.

He relishes the digital aspect of journalism, from podcasts and audio journalism to the videos and documentaries created in his free time, Ackley said, putting “documentaries” in self-effacing air quotes.

As people stumble through life together, their stories bear telling, the fledgling journalist said — whether tales of triumph against all odds or the local high school team pulling out a victory.

“We are pulling together, despite our differences,” Ackley said. “The more stories we have out there, the more we can learn from one another.”