Tornadoes are a part of life for Middle Tennessee. While tornado season runs from March to June officially, there is also a secondary season in the fall. Additionally, the traditional “tornado alley” appears to be moving closer to the region. While we can’t prevent tornadoes or other severe storms, being prepared can help us keep […]
Overall Excellence: WPLN News in 2021
By WPLN Staff
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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
By WPLN Staff
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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.
By WPLN Staff
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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
By WPLN Staff
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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
By WPLN Staff
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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
By WPLN Staff
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Murrow Award Submission: Overall Excellence
By Emily Siner
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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
By Emily Siner
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Continuing Coverage: COVID Deaths In A Tennessee Nursing Home
By WPLN Staff
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. […]
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