Nashville Public Radio recognized for coverage of HBCUs, domestic violence and harm reduction

Local stories by Nashville Public Radio reporters are being honored by multiple national journalism organizations. The awards shine a spotlight on several of the newsroom’s most ambitious efforts.

“These award-winning stories reflect the breadth and depth of our newsroom’s work,” said Mack Linebaugh, vice president of audience and content. “Each required time, persistence and empathy. And each helps us better understand one another and the community we share.

“That’s exactly what we’re here to do.”

Nashville Public Radio was founded in 1962 and became fully community funded in 2025. The nonprofit newsroom is revisiting its latest award-winning work in the post that follows.

Guns in Dangerous Hands

A project by Paige Pfleger, senior criminal justice reporter, was named a top investigation in three contests, including from the Public Media Journalists Association and the Edward R. Murrow regional awards.

The story exposed how Tennessee’s probation system left domestic violence victims in danger, including leading to the deaths of several mothers.

This week, the story earned second place from the A-Mark Prize for Investigative Reporting in Tennessee. This contest puts special emphasis on journalism that reveals new information, and that draws from public records obtained by the reporter.

Harm Reduction

In an unflinching effort from Managing Editor Tasha A.F. Lemley, This Is Nashville went deep into the addiction treatment concept of “harm reduction.” She showed the legal risks that some take to try to save lives, and profiled the life, work, and death of one woman

The Public Media Journalists Association named the episode, “From street corners to campsites, the work of Miriam Field, harm reductionist,” the Best Documentary of the year.

‘The Debt’

The state’s chronic underfunding of Tennessee State University is the focus of “The Debt: What Tennessee owes its public HBCU,” which includes an hourlong special and multiple digital reports.

Co-reported by contributor Emily Siner and WPLN Education Reporter Camellia Burris, this project has garnered honors from three contests. Those include a regional win for Best News Documentary from the Edward R. Murrow Awards, which now advances the work to the national competition.

“The Debt” was also named a finalist as best podcast by the Education Writers Association and by the National Association of Black Journalists.