Perryn Keys Never Planned to Lead APSE. Now He's Ready.

When Perryn Keys joined The Beaumont Enterprise in 2004, he’d never envisioned being an editor, much less the Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) president.

Throughout a career that included finishing in the top ten of multiple APSE contests, being named the National Sports Media Association (NSMA) Louisiana Sports Writer of the Year, and leading The Advocate in Louisiana to new heights as an Executive Sports Editor, he still felt undeserving of the role. 

“Usually, somebody asks if you want to run for office,” Keys said. “A few people asked me every once in a while, and, frankly, I didn't think I was really worthy enough to do it because I hadn't logged enough time, and hadn't really volunteered myself, within APSE, to have really merited consideration.”

That self-assessment did not surprise those who worked with Keys early in his career.

Michael Peters, the sports editor who hired Keys as a staff writer in 2004, said humility has long been one of Keys' defining traits.

“It doesn't surprise me at all that he might have some doubt about whether he can do it, because I think that's part of his personality,” Peters said. “But that humbleness is part of what makes him good. From the outside looking in, there's no question that he's worthy of this.”

Peters admits he knew Keys would be a good journalist, but didn’t realize the heights he would reach, and as he’s watched his career unfold, believes he’ll continue to establish himself as a fixture in the industry. 

“Since about 2000, I've either known, or known of, everybody who has held a leadership position in APSE, and he's more than worthy and definitely stands up with that group,” Peters said. “Those people are icons of our business, and he's definitely worthy of being in the same category as those guys.”

Keys had been a member of APSE since 2012, a contest judge since 2015, and a regular participant at national conferences since 2019, but he found himself wrapped up in his efforts to bring The Advocate — which had just bought out The Times-Picayune, its 182-year-old neighbor — to national prominence.    

“We not only found ourselves trying to make The Advocate in Baton Rouge one of the best in the nation, but now we had this huge challenge of winning a media war in New Orleans. I felt in many ways like I was doing three jobs for the price of one, and I didn't feel like I could commit as much time or effort to serve as an officer that it would have required.”

Over the next five years, he worked to establish The Advocate as one of the major metro sports departments, competing with the likes of the New York Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe, and Dallas Morning News. 

The paper moved into the nationwide APSE group and, over three years, won six top-10 APSE awards and eight nationwide top-10 writing awards. 

Additionally, The Advocate produced five books, including Purple and Golden: How the 2019 LSU Tigers Dominated College Football to Win a National Championship — the company's best-selling title in its history.  

As accolades piled up, so did the assertions that he should run for office. 

Yet it took the difficult decision to leave Louisiana, where he’d built his entire family, life, and career, for a new challenge at The Buffalo News, to gain the perspective — and bandwidth — to turn years of encouragement into a 2024 campaign.

“People kept asking, so they clearly thought I could do it,” Keys remarked about his 2024 candidacy. “So I thought, ‘I should go ahead and do it’. And that coincided with my having just moved or just accepted the job here in Buffalo.”

In May of 2024, Keys was elected second vice president and, over the last two years, has made the natural progression to president. 

Even after stepping into leadership, though, Keys admitted he still questioned whether he was fully prepared for the role. 

Much of that anxiety centered on overseeing APSE’s annual contest, one of the organization’s signature responsibilities and the “granddaddy contest of sports journalism,” as Keys described it.

“It was easily the thing that worried me the most and kept me awake,” Keys said. “Getting that finally finished … and knowing that you did it reasonably well, that makes you feel like, OK, maybe I am sort of worthy of being able to get this thing accomplished.” 

Now preparing to take office officially, Keys said his vision for APSE focuses less on dramatic change and more on helping the organization continue to adapt to a rapidly evolving journalism landscape.

“I want us to continue to search for ways to grow,” Keys said. “We need to grow in terms of membership, but we also need to grow in terms of thinking about making sure that we're in the right places.” 

Part of that growth means embracing the changing nature of sports media while also listening more closely to younger journalists entering the profession.

“People think of us as ‘newspaper sports editors,’” Keys said. “Well, that's obviously not only what we do anymore, and it hasn't been for years. We need to make sure that we're all in all of the places, platforms, and spaces that we need to be.”

Keys also hopes APSE can foster stronger relationships among its members beyond conferences and award ceremonies.

“We need to do a much better job of making sure that we as members are there for each other,” Keys said. “Not just when we're there at conferences, but throughout the year. We have to lean on each other.” 

As he entered the presidency, Keys says many of his leadership values have been shaped by his predecessors, including outgoing APSE president Paul Barrett, whom he praised for his calm, measured management style.

“There's a method to his mildness,” Keys said. “I don't think it's necessary to scream and throw chairs and bang on the table to be able to be an effective leader.” 

That same steady approach extends to Keys’ outlook on APSE’s annual contest. 

While he acknowledged there is always room for improvement, he does not believe the competition requires sweeping changes, especially with nearly 200 organizations participating this year — a number he said has risen significantly in recent years.

“That says to me that more organizations than not view this as the place to be,” Keys said. 

Even amid ongoing layoffs and uncertainty across journalism, Keys remains optimistic about APSE’s future and the people helping shape it. 

He described incoming second vice president Eric Hall as “sharp” and someone who “goes the extra mile,” while praising third vice president Lauren Jennings for her experience, composure, and adaptability.

“We need to continue to listen to the young people who are coming up in our business,” Keys said. They are going to help us figure out the best path forward for our industry.”