WPLN News won a regional Murrow Award, Overall Excellence, for this newsroom-wide submission. In 2021, WPLN News covered natural disasters and manmade tragedies. We brought listeners moments of levity and instances of reconnection. We dived deep into allegations of misconduct in the Nashville police department and celebrated 150 years of the Fisk Jubilee singers. We […]
The Tennessee Tornadoes Of 2020, One Year Later
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The storm entered Tennessee at night. Its intensity was unexpected, and it cut across the landscape at 60 mph — fast for a supercell. By the time the storm dissipated on March 3, 2020, 10 distinct tornadoes had touched down, causing chaos over 100 miles. The winds peeled open warehouse roofs, lopped off church steeples, […]
WPLN special newscast: Dec. 11, 2021, 10:58 a.m.
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When tornadoes ripped through Tennessee and Kentucky early on a Saturday morning, WPLN’s news team whirred to action. We inserted newscasts into every slot we could find in a busy weekend schedule, providing timely severe weather alerts and reports on the damage. In this newscast, WPLN’s Marianna Bacallao lays out the scope of the devastation, […]
Waverly flooding and its aftermath
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When flash floods destroyed a large portion of Waverly, Tenn., in the early morning hours of Aug. 21, 2021, reporters from countless news outlets rushed to the scene. They interviewed survivors, highlighted the destruction and gathered the stories of the victims. And for many organizations, that was it. But not for WPLN News. Through the […]
WPLN News tornado coverage: Sat., Dec. 11, 2021
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When a deadly line of tornadoes swept through Tennessee and Kentucky in the early morning hours of Dec. 11, 2021, WPLN News whirred to action. Veteran newscaster Nina Cardona provided breaking news updates — including the latest weather warnings — starting at 4 a.m. WPLN News reporters and editors spoke to meteorologists and emergency responders […]
PMJA Awards: May 19, 2020, Newscast
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Murrow Award Submission: Overall Excellence
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2020 was a year of nonstop crises for the WPLN Newsroom. Deadly tornadoes hit Nashville the morning of the Super Tuesday primaries, March 3; the pandemic swept through just as recovery was underway; protests lasted for several weeks over the summer; a presidential debate took place; and a man blew up part of downtown on […]
Writing: Meribah Knight
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Continuing Coverage: COVID Deaths In A Tennessee Nursing Home
Just three weeks after the first coronavirus case was detected in Tennessee, WPLN News reporter Blake Farmer reported from the scene as patients of a nearby nursing home were evacuated amid one of the state’s first coronavirus outbreaks. But that was just the beginning of his reporting on the Gallatin Center for Rehabilitation and Healing. […]
Breaking News: Super Tuesday Tornado Coverage
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