WPLN News announces the team members who will lead its upcoming daily news show, This Is Nashville, planned to launch in early 2022.
“Assembling this talented team has been my top priority since I started in August. We worked hard to bring diverse perspectives and experience to the table,” says Executive Producer Andrea Tudhope. “Most of the team came on board in the past few weeks, and I’m already blown away by the ideas we’ve come up with together. In that short time, we’ve interviewed more than four dozen people and traveled hundreds of miles. We’re building our collective vision as a team with community at the center.”
This Is Nashville will not only showcase the high-quality journalism the WPLN newsroom creates on a daily basis, but also fill in the gaps. The show is envisioned as 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.
“WPLN News is thrilled to launch its first-ever daily news show next year,” Nashville Public Radio President & CEO Steve Swenson (he, him) says. “This flagship program will become your one-stop-shop for news and informed discussion in Nashville and Middle Tennessee.”
WPLN’s news team has grown from 10 journalists in 2019 and is on track to have 25 journalists by the end of 2021. While most newsrooms across the country are shrinking, WPLN News continues to grow thanks to the support of its listeners and corporate sponsors.
Meet The This Is Nashville Staff:
Andrea Tudhope
Executive Producer
Andrea has been in public media for 6 years, most recently serving as senior coordinating producer for America Amplified, a CPB-funded community engagement initiative. As a member of the leadership team, she trained and coordinated the efforts of reporters and producers across 50+ stations, wrote and edited a community engagement playbook and launched a national talk show around the election.
Khalil Ekulona
Host
Khalil has been involved with media for almost his entire life. Recently he served as the host and producer of No More Normal, the pandemic-focused radio show on KUNM in Albuquerque. He’s also served as the co-host of Good Day New Mexico on KOB4, and as a correspondent with New Mexico PBS. Born in New Jersey, raised in Maryland, Khalil received his degree in political science from Elon University (then Elon College).
Steve Haruch
Senior Producer
Steve has worked as an editor at the Nashville Scene, marketing director for Parnassus Books, and as a freelance writer and independent film producer. Steve is the editor of Greetings from New Nashville: How a Sleepy Southern Town Became ‘It’ City. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR’s Code Switch and Catapult, among other outlets. His audio stories have aired on WPLN News and WBUR’s Here & Now.
Anna Gallegos-Cannon
Digital Lead
Anna hails from Texas originally but moved around the U.S. before landing in Nashville in 2018, where she became a digital producer for the Tennessean. Before that, she worked as a copy editor for the Atlanta Journal Constitution, a reporter for The Oakland Tribune and a hockey writer for Sports Illustrated, among other media roles.
Mikayla Elias
Technical Director
Mikayla is an audio engineer specializing in broadcast and studio work. A graduate of Belmont University, they have worked on a wide spectrum of projects, from hip-hop singles to occult podcasts. Mikayla has been working in radio broadcasting for nearly three years. In her free time, she enjoys writing poetry, volunteering around the city, and watching hockey.
Tasha Lemley
Multimedia Producer
Tasha has lived in Nashville for nearly 20 years and has been a graphic designer, outreach worker, podcaster, photographer, legal videographer, and social entrepreneur who co-founded the street newspaper, The Contributor. Tasha first became formally involved with WPLN News years ago as a field producer for the Versify podcast.
Rose Gilbert
Multimedia Producer
Rose grew up in Louisville, Kentucky, and Montespertoli, Italy. She comes to WPLN News from a reporting internship at the Tennessean. In 2020, she was senior producer for the USA TODAY podcast Changing the Game. During college, she interned with NPR’s Eleanor Beardsley in Paris. Rose speaks English, Italian and French.
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