Alumnus’ Paralympic Coverage Earns Top 10 Spot in Hearst Journalism Awards Competition
School of Journalism and Media alumnus Lukas Vysniauskas’ (‘24) with US Paralympian Carson Clough in Paris.
School of Journalism and Media alumnus Lukas Vysniauskas’ (‘24) reporting on US Paralympian Carson Clough at the 2024 Paralympic Games has been recognized by the Hearst Journalism Awards Program.
Vysniauskas finished ninth in the 2024-25 Hearst Multimedia Narrative Video Storytelling Competition.
The Hearst Journalism Awards is a nationally recognized program that honors colleges and students that produce exceptional work in the field of journalism and media. Winners in the multimedia narrative video storytelling competition were selected from 81 entries submitted by 47 schools in the first multimedia competition of the year.
“The coolest part is that more people are going to hear Clough’s story and see the work he put in to compete at the Paralympics,” Vysniauskas said.
Vysniauskas was one of nine School of Journalism and Media students who covered the 2024 Paralympic Games for the USA TODAY Network thanks to a partnership between the media outlet, the school, and the College of Communication and Information. He served as the team’s social media producer.
The story that earned him a top-10 spot in the multimedia narrative video storytelling competition focused on Clough, a Paralympic triathlon athlete, competing at the Games. Prior to traveling to Paris, Vysniauskas traveled to Park City, Utah, to film Clough’s training and establish rapport before meeting up with the athlete again in Paris to cover the competition.
Vysniauskas said covering the games for USA TODAY was one of his favorite experiences as a college student at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He especially enjoyed being able to film all over Paris at the various venues and capturing the atmosphere of the Games.
Covering the Games was also Vysniauskas’ last assignment as a college student as he walked the graduation stage in May but had final coursework to complete that summer—and in this case, that coursework just happened to be covering the Paralympic Games.
Shortly after commencement in May, he interviewed for a social media manager and content creator job with Tennessee National. Along with the regular stress of a job interview, he was anxious about telling the interviewer that he had been selected to cover the Games, which would mean taking more than a week off early into his tenure with the company.
Fortunately, his new employer congratulated him and encouraged him to take full advantage of the once-in-lifetime opportunity. Vysniauskas said it was surreal seeing his name with a USA TODAY byline but was proud to represent the school and university in Paris. He hopes the work he and his fellow students did might open the door for future students to take advantage of similar partnerships with major media outlets.
Vysniauskas said he thoroughly enjoyed his time on Rocky Top and enjoyed the various opportunities he had to get hands-on experience.
“At the end of the day, the thing that stood out the most about my experience at UT was the number of opportunities it created,” Vysniauskas said. “If you look for it, you will find tons of opportunities to take the knowledge you learned in class and go use it.”
Alumnus’ Paralympic Coverage Earns Top 10 Spot in Hearst Journalism Awards Competition written by Ernest Rollins and originally published on the College of Communication & Information site.