Jared Austin

Jared joined the WVLT News team in October of 2021.

Before moving down south, Jared spent all of his life in the Midwest. He grew up in the Chicago suburb of Aurora, Illinois. He's a fan of the Chicago Bulls, Blackhawks and Bears, but roots for the Minnesota Twins in baseball.

Jared went to school at the University of Missouri-Columbia where he got a Bachelor's of Journalism in 2019.

His first job out of school took him to Lincoln, Nebraska: the home of the University of Nebraska. Jared covered several topics up there including capitol coverage, casino gaming and severe weather coverage.

Jared wanted to get to a warmer climate and set his sights on East Tennessee. He is very excited to be so close to the Smoky Mountains and several great places to hike. In his spare time, he enjoys checking out all of trails and going to they gym in his spare time.

If you ever have any story ideas, please send them to jared.smith@gray.tv!