Nashville Public Radio news/talk WPLN-FM (90.3) has announced the staff for its first-ever produced-in-house daily news show “This Is Nashville,” expected to debut in early 2022. Executive Producer Andrea Tudhope and host Khalil Ekulona will work with Senior Producer Steve Haruch, Digital Lead Anna Gallegos-Cannon, Multimedia Producers Tasha Lemley and Rose Gilbert, and Technical Director Mikayla Elias.
“WPLN News is thrilled to launch its first-ever daily news show next year,” Nashville Public Radio President and CEO Steve Swenson says. “This flagship program will become [a] one-stop-shop for news and informed discussion in Nashville and Middle Tennessee.”
According to Nashville Public Radio's press release, “This Is Nashville” is intended to be “a gathering place, bringing together diverse perspectives that are often overlooked, and prioritizing the people most impacted by the latest developments in our city and state. The goal is to bring folks from all walks of life together to talk across their differences and find their shared values.”
Before taking the executive producer reins, Tudhope spent five years at University of Missouri-Kansas City NPR affiliate KCUR, where she produced a daily talk show and long-term investigative features including “America Amplified: Election 2020.” “This Is Nashville.” Host Ekulona served as host and producer of the pandemic-focused show “No More Normal” on Albuquerque pubcaster KUNM.
The rest of the staff come from various media backgrounds and locations. Haruch is a former editor at the Nashville Scene and has written for The New York Times and The Atlantic, while Gallegos-Cannon has been copy editor for the Atlanta Journal Constitution, reporter for The Oakland Tribune and hockey writer for Sports Illustrated. Gilbert was senior producer for USA Today's 2020 podcast “Changing the Game”, Lemley a podcaster and co-founder of street newspaper The Contributor, and Elias has worked in radio broadcasting for nearly three years.
“[When] assembling this talented team, we worked hard to bring diverse perspectives and experience to the table,” Tudhope says. “I’m already blown away by the ideas we’ve come up with together. We’re building our collective vision as a team with community at the center.”
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