This Is Nashville

EARLY BIRD PRICING ENDS MAY 11th

TICKET PRICES INCREASE TO

General Admission $55 and PRSA Nashville Members $45

"This is Nashville" delivers local news you need to know and perspectives you didn’t know you were missing. Join the team members of WPLN’s newest radio show for our PRSA Nashville May program. Andrea Tudhope, Khalil Ekulona, Anita Bugg, and Steve Swenson will discuss their daily show featuring a dynamic mix of live in-studio interviews and audio reporting, the challenges they have faced, and lessons they have learned on their journey so far.

Panelists are:

Anita Bugg, VP OF CONTENT, NASHVILLE PUBLIC RADIO

Anita graduated with a B.A. in journalism from Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky. In that college town, she worked for commercial stations and discovered her first public radio "home" with WKMS. The station hired her as a reporter, eventually promoting her to news director.

She's been with Nashville Public Radio since 1995, serving as Morning Edition host, assignment editor and then news director for 15 years. In that time, WPLN went from a "rip and read" newsroom to one focused on original reporting. She became the station's VP of Content in 2016. In a news world rampant with staff reductions, Anita is particularly pleased WPLN’s news team has grown from 10 journalists in 2019 to 25 journalists in 2022.

An avid sports fan, Anita is also a slow but steady runner and a relatively new motorcycling enthusiast.

Khalil Ekulona, HOST, THIS IS NASHVILLE

Khalil Ekulona 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 and raised in Maryland, Khalil received his degree in political science from Elon University (then Elon College). During his time in Los Angeles, Khalil worked as an educator for at-risk high school students and an associate producer for film, and he founded the hip-hop group Fresh Air.

Khalil loves to find humor and wisdom in life’s turns and corners. He enjoys discovering the events that define our lives by talking to his fellow human beings and striving to learn from their experiences.

Steve Swenson, PRESIDENT & CEO, NASHVILLE PUBLIC RADIO

Steve attended the University of California, Santa Barbara and began his radio career in the newsroom of KFWB in Los Angeles, where he was a desk assistant, rising to writer, producer and Assistant News Director. He served as News Director and Executive Editor of 1010 WINS in New York City before moving into station management at WTOP in Washington, D.C.

Shortly thereafter, CBS asked him to return to New York where he became VP and General Manager of two all-news radio stations, 1010 WINS and WCBS Newsradio 880. In 2011, he moved back to D.C. to be Senior VP and Market Manager for the six CBS Radio stations.

Steve was named President and CEO of Nashville Public Radio in April 2019. He and his husband Stewart, an accomplished young adult author, singer/songwriter and college professor, have four wonderful children and a French bulldog who light up their lives.

Andrea Tudhope, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, THIS IS NASHVILLE

Andrea Tudhope is the executive producer launching Nashville Public Radio’s first daily news show, This Is Nashville. To the role, Andrea brings an ongoing commitment to practicing community-centered journalism and elevating lived experience as expertise.

Andrea has been in public media for six 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.

Before that, Andrea worked for Kansas City’s NPR station, KCUR, producing a daily show and reporting daily news and long-term investigative stories, including an award-winning series on gun violence, with a grant from the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma. Her work has also appeared in The New Yorker Radio Hour, NPR, Here & Now, The Colorado Independent, The Colorado Springs Gazette and HuffPost.

Though she’s from Kansas City, Missouri, Andrea has called many places home, including Colorado Springs, New York City and Dublin. You will probably see her wild blonde curly hair bouncing around on Nashville’s running trails.