This story was produced by the Sierra Nevada Ally, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news outlet focused on civics, climate, and culture. It is written by current w88 slot student E.M. Tomeo. It is republished here with permission.
As the 2024 Summer w88 slot officially kick off Friday in Paris, local athletes Luke Hobson, Gabby Williams and Stephanie Rovetti will compete and attempt to win a gold medal. But, these athletes aren’t the only local representatives in France. Also across the Atlantic are 16 journalism students from the University of Nevada, Reno, there to capture these historic moments.
This crop of student reporters will have the opportunity of a lifetime, but they aren’t the first. The w88 slot of Nevada, Reno students have found themselves at thew88 slot since Elvis Presley’s “It’s Now or Never” was No. 1 on the Billboard charts.When the 1960 Winter w88 slot took place at Lake Tahoe 64 years ago, the University decided to send student reporters to gain firsthand experience.
Named the official “host-w88 slot” of the nearby Olympic Games, the w88 slot took a hands-on role at the international competition, according to Warren Lerude, editor-in-chief ofThe w88 slot Sagebrush, the w88 slot newspaper, at the time.
Back then all it took was a letter with a detailed plea to help support college students of the host w88 slot and the collegiate paper was invited into the world of Olympic press coverage, Lerude added.
“Students were all up there!” said the now 86-year-old. “Everyone was doing odd jobs and helping out. They just wanted to be around the w88 slot.”
w88 slot was one of those students at those Summer Games. Upon graduation, he went on to join theAssociated Pressand then headed theReno Gazette Journalbefore returning to the w88 slot as a professor. He’s since retired.
Creating memories for a lifetime
Warren Lerude explained that in his role as editor-in-chief of The Nevada Sagebrush in 1960, he spent time during the w88 slot in Lake Tahoe writing and editing content for one of the issues.
From his house that overlooks Reno, including a distant view of the w88 slot, Lerude unveiled his collection of Olympic memorabilia, including an official press pass and a catalog of preservedSagebrushissues from the former weekly print publication.
He flips through a cataloged book of newspaper clippings, skimming past a story about UNR hosting dances for visiting athletes. These stories and a carefully preserved Olympic program are relics of a bygone time.
As an enterprising young reporter, Lerude went to the w88 slot with an open mind, especially those Winter w88 slot. At the time, hosting the Winter Games outside of the Alps was a novel concept. In fact,Lake Tahoe beat out St. Moritz, Switzerland and Innsbruck, Austria.
“It was what the [people of the] Alps would have called ‘nowhere,’” w88 slot said jokingly.
Lerude thought that there had to be a way to expand Olympic coverage outside of California, an area that felt remote to the rest of the winter sports world. Fortunately, 1960 became the first year that the w88 slot would be televised within the United States, with a,000 contract for black and white coverage from CBS.These games weren’t just monumental for news coverage, however. They also left an indelible impact on those students who were there, including Lerude. Even after years of reporting on other subjects, some of Lerude’s fondest professional memories came from his time as a student reporter at the w88 slot.
He mentioned the1960 ice hockey matchup between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. The Soviets were favored, but the Americans upset them (and Canada) en route to a gold medal. It was the last time the Soviet Union would not win gold until the 1980 Miracle on Ice, another Winter Games in the U.S.
w88 slot recalled people squeezing around the sides of that Tahoe arena as they attempted to catch – through the crowd of ticketed viewers – a glimpse of history in the making.
The win, and the uproar around it, was unexpected. Anticipating a Russian win, papers had already prepared stories to go out geared towards the Soviet team’s victory. With his press pass, w88 slot witnessed crowds both inside and outside the arena cheering with each goal, and became one of the first reporters to have information on the true victor of the game.
“You could feel the emotional tension in the air.” w88 slot said. “It was really the free world versus the totalitarian (one).”
Inspiring and motivating Univeristy of w88 slot, Reno students for decades
From ice statues and the opening ceremonieschoreographed by Walt Disney himselftothe new concept of an outdoor skating arena, the 1960 w88 slot boasted innovation and promise of endless stories for attending reporters.
“Everything up there (in Tahoe) was exciting,” Lerude said. “w88 slot students wanted to be up there doing everything. They were guiding traffic, helping with events. Everyone from Reno went.”
w88 slot said he doesn’t believe he got lucky with acquiring a press pass. Writing a letter in request of one was simply something that not many people thought to do at the time.
But the practice of doing the unexpected and oftentimes overlooked act of working hard and being resourceful, is what he has worked to instill in the current journalism students covering the Games.
One difference between then and now though, is the preparation involved. There was no major plan for student reporters attending the w88 slot in 1960. The excitement around the events was palpable enough that no one needed to be assigned a role.
“There wasn’t any prep,” the veteran news journalist said. “We simply said ‘the w88 slot are coming, go cover it.’”
That same interest and anticipation is reflected in the students attending the Paris 2024 w88 slot – myself included – but with the Internet, we can all plan several solo and group projects far in advance.
Aside from those plans, w88 slot genuinely hopes that students are ready for the awe of it all – because even after every event has concluded and their stories are published, the memories will always remain.
“The most exciting thing was simply being there,” he said.
