'You're making your mark': Hussman students travel to Paris to cover the Olympics

In the weeks leading up to the 2024 Olympic Games, UNC journalism professor Charlie Tuggle warned his students to not expect much sleep in the upcoming weeks. 

That's because Tuggle selected 25 students from the University's Hussman School of Journalism and Media to travel to Paris to report on the Games for various outlets. 

To Tuggle and the 25 young journalists accompanying him, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Every free moment should be spent preparing for when the opening ceremonies begin. 

"You can sleep on the plane on the way home," Tuggle said. "We're working. We're gonna go try to see some things as well. But the idea is that you're making your mark. And you're making it in Paris, France at the doggone Olympics." 

Starting July 26, 20 Hussman students will be on site at the Olympics reporting on in-state athletes for news outlets based in North Carolina, while five will be directly working with the Olympic News Service as junior reporters.

Since the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, UNC has partnered with the Olympics four times to give aspiring journalists the chance to make unforgettable memories and create career-changing work. UNC was one of 10 universities to work with the ONS in 2008, but now — led by the efforts of Tuggle — the University is the only school still participating with the organization almost 16 years later. 

"This isn't something that everybody gets to do," rising junior Ben Mihailovich said. "I think for Hussman to be able to do it, it just shows what a prestigious school Hussman is."

During his sophomore year, Mihailovich knew that he wanted to attend the 2024 Summer Olympics. Through word of mouth, he heard about Tuggle's trip and completed the application at the end of 2023. 

By the beginning of 2024, 40 Hussman students had applied and 20 were selected by February. To make the decision, Tuggle considered how familiar he was with the students' work and the quality of their clips. 

Since the selection, the group has been meeting every couple of weeks to prepare themselves for the intense reporting that comes with covering the Games, emphasizing the importance of individual research. 

When he is not covering summer baseball, Mihailovich spends his off days and spare time collecting notes about the North Carolina-specific athletes who are competing in Paris. If he finds contact information, Mihailovich will attempt to set up an interview prior to the Games or reach out for requests during the competition. 

Even with the hours separately dedicated to an internship, Mihailovich is determined to not "BS the Olympics." He recognizes the rarity of this moment for anyone, especially underclassmen. 

"It's a pressure-packed opportunity because you have to do it right and you have to do a good job with these athletes," Mihailovich said. 

But even with the preparation, Tuggle knows his students will have to learn to adapt. In his experience, reporters can go in with the best plan only to pivot on the second day.

This type of growth is what Tuggle is most excited to see every time he takes this trip. Opportunities like this lead to invaluable skills after students leave UNC. 

"It's the ability to take the cards that you're dealt and play out the winning hand," Tuggle said. "So, I'm eager to see how they do that. How do you adapt when the inevitable happens?"

Still, more than anything, both Tuggle and Mihailovich are excited for the chance to step outside of Chapel Hill and write stories about the culture, the athletes and anything else they can find while in Paris. 

"Each [Games] is so different," Tuggle said. "Some of my best memories have nothing to do with the Games per se. They have to do with stuff we got to do as a result of being there."

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