Tennessean reporters win USA TODAY national awards for video, podcast – The Tennessean

Tennessean reporters Bryan West, Kirsten Fiscus and Keith Sharon were honored in the 2025 Best of USA TODAY Media Awards.
USA TODAY Co. serves 215 local media markets across the United States, with more than 186 million monthly unique visitors in the USA TODAY Network.
West, who covers all things Taylor Swift and country music, won Best On-Camera Standup.
Judges lauded West’s personality and professionalism in front of the camera.
“Bryan West is so comfortable in front of a camera, he takes us effortlessly into the world of Taylor Swift and the Nashville music scene,” the judges said. “The production values are network-level and the content is clearly focused. West is having fun, and the audience is, too.”
The Tennessean’s “Murder on Music Row” podcast won Best Audio Storytelling for its second season, “The Skull at the End of the Rainbow.” It was the story of the life and death of David “Skull” Schulman, the proprietor of Skull’s Rainbow Room for 50 years.
Schulman was murdered in 1998. Revelations uncovered during work on the podcast and accompanying narrative series led James Caveye, convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison, to seek a new trial.
Sharon and Fiscus reported, wrote and narrated the podcast. Fiscus also served as the sound editor.
The judges said Sharon and Fiscus provided excellent reporting and entertaining storytelling.
“A good podcast entertains or informs,” the judges wrote. “A great podcast generally does both. The very best cross a threshold, fully immersing listeners until they’re genuinely sorry the final minute or episode has ended. ‘The Skull at the End of the Rainbow’ clears that bar.
“It draws listeners deeply into the enduring mystery of David Schulman’s death while vividly resurrecting Nashville That Was. The city’s people, culture and history thrum beneath the reporting by Keith Sharon and Kirsten Fiscus, effectively making listeners honorary Nashvillians by the end. What makes the series especially strong is that its storytelling never outruns its reporting. The narrative richness is grounded in deep, disciplined journalism, something even chart-topping podcasts can sometimes short-change. The renewed interest in getting the investigation and conviction right that’s been generated by ‘Murder on Music Row’ Season 2 is tangible evidence that this work lands not just with audio appeal, but with real-world weight.”
Tennessean reporters who covered the deadly AES plant explosion and photographer Mark Zaleski were named finalists in breaking news and photo.

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