Behind the scenes: At ‘This Is Nashville,’ our digital doors are open to the community

The “This Is Nashville” brainstorming board is a centerpiece in the show’s studio.

For our upcoming daily show, This Is Nashville, transparency is important. So, we want to take you behind the scenes as we build this show from the ground up. This is the first in a series of blog posts introducing our team and letting you in on the process.

Anna Gallegos

Anna Gallegos-Cannon is the digital lead for This Is Nashville.

Being a journalist exposes you to a lot of different people, and you never really know when an incidental conversation will change your outlook on the news.

A few years ago, I was making small talk with another woman while waiting for jury duty in El Paso, Texas.

After the standard chatter about the weather, the conversation turned to our jobs. She was an esthetician and I was starting my career in journalism. On what was an otherwise insignificant day, I’ll never forget the question she asked me — “Where do you get the ideas for the news?”

I had worked a few internships and entry-level writing jobs, but up until that point I never really considered where story ideas came from. I don’t remember the answer I gave my fellow juror, but I’ve been asking myself that question again ever since I joined This Is Nashville.

As we build the new daily show for WPLN News, our This Is Nashville team is placing an emphasis on transparency and how we can bring the community into our production process. That means being able to answer that question my fellow juror asked me years ago.

We’re in the process now of developing the many topics we’ll explore as a show. Some of our ideas have come from our own curiosity and questions, as “old” and “new” Nashville residents ourselves — like, why does the city have 40 metro council members? And, how do residents without vehicles navigate the city?

We’re also exploring how we can expand on the reporting of our broader WPLN newsroom. With one hour every weekday, we have the time to have in-depth conversations with reporters like Blake Farmer and Ambriehl Crutchfield, and get to know more about the reporting, the details and the sources that didn’t fit into their coverage for Morning Edition or All Things Considered.

Last but not least, many of our show ideas have come from you dear reader.

Our This Is Nashville team has been busy over the past few weeks engaging with community members across Nashville asking questions like, “What do you want out of our new daily show?” We’ve heard from local musicians, Native American leaders, educators, immigrant business owners and more.

We even created a brief survey to solicit your ideas. Before we launch, we’re planning a listening session to meet with a greater number of Nashville and Middle Tennessee residents.

And, of course, we’re listening online. Join the conversation and share your ideas on Twitter or Facebook.

This Is Nashville is still a few months away from debuting, but we want the community to be part of the show even before episode one.

Anna Gallegos-Cannon is the digital lead for This Is Nashville, a new daily show launching early 2022 from WPLN News. Email her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter at @anna_gallegos.