Hussman college students to cowl their first Winter Games

A bunch of 25 Carolina college students will acquire hands-on expertise in stay tv and sports activities writing through the 2026 Winter Olympics (Feb. 6-22) with the assist of a sports activities broadcasting professor.

The UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media college students, alongside C.A. Tuggle, John H. Stembler Jr. Distinguished Professor, will journey to Milan and work as reporters through the Games. Since the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Hussman has despatched college students to cowl the Games as official reporters for the International Olympic Committee and NBC News. This would be the fifth Olympics lined by Hussman college students, however the first Winter Games.

“A couple of the students have never left the country, so this will be a brand-new experience for them,” mentioned Tuggle. “The Winter Olympics are also staged differently, so this will be a different kind of experience for the students who have gone before.”

The college students will report across the metropolis, talking with followers and households of Olympians to seek out tales with a North Carolina connection. The content material and tales produced by the scholars will probably be out there to each NBC News station throughout the nation.

Students will talk with media shops within the Triangle space, the coast of North Carolina and Pennsylvania to develop story concepts and video packages that may run on stay native information broadcasts. They will even pitch tales to any market along with their main companions and translate content material into Spanish for Telemundo.

Each pupil crew will embody a author, tv reporter and an audio reporter. All college students will even produce social media content material all through the Games.

This expertise will give college students observe with same-day turnarounds on tales and tv packages. A crew of scholars will even spend a part of the Games in Cortina, together with making journeys to the ski villages.

Sophomore Eliza Jennings will produce broadcast video packages for WITN-TV and Curtis Media Group whereas in Milan. Jennings has by no means been to the Olympics earlier than and is happy for the chance.

“When you decide to come to Carolina, these are the kind of moments you dream about,” mentioned Jennings. “Most people work their whole lives for an opportunity like this, and to get to go to the Olympics as a sophomore in college kind of feels like a journalism student’s version of winning a national championship. It just doesn’t get much better than this.”

Senior Kyla McGhee, who went with the Hussman crew to the 2024 Paris Olympics, goes once more to Milan. She will produce video packages with North Carolina stations WRAL and WITN-TV.

She plans to pursue a journalism profession after graduating this May and hopes the expertise will probably be useful in getting ready for her future work with tight turnarounds and deadlines.

“I feel blessed to be working for another Olympics. Not many people can say they’ve attended the Olympics, and I have the opportunity to add two Olympics to my resume,” mentioned McGhee. “I’m looking forward to the whole experience. I’ve never been to Italy, so I’m excited to explore a new country and see sports like figure skating, hockey and snowboarding.”

Jennings thinks the expertise will probably be “life-changing” for the scholars’ careers. “It’s an incredibly unique opportunity you don’t really hear college students getting to do,” she mentioned. “It makes me feel like I’m capable of achieving anything I work hard enough for in the future.”