I mourn for Aviva, and for every individual lost to gun violence in Kansas City and beyond, many of whom we never get to read about. Whose stories don’t make the news. Who lived full lives, had people who loved them. Who had dreams. My heart breaks today and every day for them.
There’s a lot of outrage over last night’s killing in the Crossroads. Good. We should be incensed. But please, Kansas City, don’t forget that all of the killings in our city are tragic. Please, feel outrage every time a life is lost, whether “it could have been any of us” or not.
A month ago, I unexpectedly lost my journalism job.
My role as founding executive producer of
@WPLN
's first daily show
@ThisIsNashville
was abruptly eliminated and I was terminated immediately.
I hate that it happened, but I’m so proud of what we built over the past 2 years. 🧵
✨ some personal news ✨ I have joined Nashville's NPR station
@WPLN
as executive producer launching the station's first daily show. Needless to say, I'm thrilled.
May Erin Langhofer rest in peace. May Michael Pittman rest in peace. Michael was killed at 32nd & Indiana Thursday. There are parts of our city where it feels normal when someone gets killed. Remember your outrage the next time someone is killed, no matter where, no matter who.
This time last year, I got my full team in place...and by in place, I mean scattered across Nashville asking folks what they wanted out of
@WPLN
's new daily show
@ThisIsNashville
.
Now 7 months after launch,
@NashvilleScene
names us Best Daily News Show.
As for what’s next for me, stay tuned. I’m cooking a few things up… But mostly, I gave a lot to this show, poured my heart and soul all the way in. Now, I need to give a little to myself.
P.S. I’m staying in Nashville for now. Hang out with me!
.
@PaigePfleger
called 40+ people to pull off this feature story and its corresponding
@ThisIsNashville
episode on TN's Dept. of Children's Services. It's powerful stuff. Listen back if you missed it.
So fulfilling to edit and provide a place for this kind of journalism.
They told me they’ve learned their community isn’t bad, that it’s just up against tough odds. But they are putting in the work. Meet these kids, and prepare to be inspired. My story
@kcur
— 10/10
Nashville's first & most lucrative business was the buying, selling of Black men, women & children.
To learn more about what life was like for them, I went with
@learothawms
+
@The_Compact
to an elusive island on the Cumberland.
What's the connection? Find out on
@WPLN
at noon
Before the Civil War, enslaved people were sold and traded in downtown Nashville.
Today, we'll learn about who these enslaved people were and the prominent Nashville families who owned them.
Our guests are
@learothawms
and Davidson Co. historian Dr. Carole Bucy.
Completely gutted. Aviva was a brilliant reporter and wonderful friend. I feel so lucky to have worked with her and gotten to know her over the years. I am devastated. My heart goes out to her loved ones, friends, and all of our
@kcur
family.
This Is Nashville changed the civic dialogue in our city. It created a space for discussion that didn’t exist before with the kind of intentionality we had with our sourcing, our community partnership and our focus on centering lived experience. I am so proud of that.
Feeling
#blessed
on this birthday thanks to my
@kcur
colleagues, even
@DanMargolies
, whose bday wish went almost exactly like this:
Dan: *sees treats on my desk* What is it your birthday or something?
me: yes
Dan: Oh it is? Have you hit 30 yet?
me: *shakes head*
Dan: Jesus.
I'm heartened to see that
@TheMiddleradio
is taking up the mantle of elevating voices between the coasts to talk about what matters to them this election season.
It’s something those of us who live & report in the middle have been thinking about for a long time.
A thread (1/?)
In recent weeks, several friends have told me, a journalist, “I don’t buy it. I’m not worried about the coronavirus.” They think “the media” has blown it out of proportion. With a smile and gentle language, I’ve given the following PSA. 1/
Ok is anyone else’s feed just journalists with *personal* news or am I just a journalist who only follows journalists OR is there a lot of turnover in the industry
anyway in *personal news* … nah, jk. I’m keeping my awesome job with my awesome team
@ThisIsNashville
I’m grateful to all of the
@WPLN
colleagues who helped make it possible. And above all, I’m grateful for the trust and support of this community. I’m honored to have gotten to serve Nashville in this way for the past 1.5 years.
Y'all. The brilliant
@rosegilbert99
won TWO regional Murrow awards for
@ThisIsNashville
features she produced last year! Well deserved. I'm so honored to have edited these delightful stories.
So, when I decided to report on a homicide that took the life of a teen last December, I made a decision. I would pair that story, an important one, with a story of resilience. I would shine light on the work those teens are doing to change the narrative, to stop the violence. 2/
Got to do a really cool thing today with
@NPR
Chief Diversity Officer
@keithwoods
@nprtraining
. For 50+ journalists across our
@Amplified2020
network, we facilitated a discussion on how to constructively critique our work through lens of race & ethnicity. Will share more soon!
Ask yourself: 'Have I shown the audience, with my words and sounds, the relevance of race... exercise a much more rigorous investigation into the /why/ we're including, or not including, someone's race.' -
@keithwoods
and
@andreatudhope
| with
@Amplified2020
"Quietly forking away at your yams & green beans while Aunt Susan spews hateful messages about Black people, immigrants, or gender nonconforming people won’t do anything to change the status quo." 🙌🙌🙌
@JennMJack
@TeenVogue
When I wasn’t leading the team, planning shows and editing stories, I got to produce a few stories of my own. My favorite was probably this story about Promise Land, Tennessee.
BREAKING: Jerry Bausby sentenced to two consecutive terms of life in prison for sexually abusing, sodomizing and murdering his teenage daughter Daizsa Bausby in 2016.
@kcur
A thread: Recently, a friend told me he didn't like the way
@AOC
gestures with her arms when she speaks. Something like "I just can't." Got me thinking about how powerful women with powerful words are *just not palatable,* to men especially, but not exclusively. 1/
I had the great pleasure of reporting for this
@NewYorkerRadio
story by
@kala_curious
last summer. I spent hours with Charlotte Hill and her father Sterling Hill in Kansas City, Kansas, as he prepared to join her in Tanzania. Listen to part one here:
Our shows inspired listeners to action — whether it was volunteering at Launch Pad for LGBTQ youth, becoming a member at Tennessee’s Native American Indian Association, attending a NOAH meeting, or writing a $1,000 check to Tennessee Resettlement Aid.
I am shook. Had no idea. Apparently my inner child would have rather that it were the real santa and my mom cheating than find out santa was not real and that my dad was LYING to me about being santa ?? Please respect my privacy during this time.
The impact we made in our first year and a half on air is immense. In that time, we interviewed 1,500 people. Yes, 1,500! Not including those we interviewed on background to inform our show every day.
In fall 2021, I hit the ground running. I got to hire an incredible team, and started laying the groundwork for what I hoped would be a truly unique, community engaged talk show. Something I understood a city like Nashville desperately needed.
My whole life is just endless coffee-stained notebook pages filled with wildly intricate abstract drawings I've made during phone calls. It's like an obscure language I'll never be able to read. Arguably not the best use of my pen during a reporting call but it works for me.
@kcurCST
My two cents? Don't feel like you *have* to go to college immediately, especially if money is a concern. Don't underestimate community colleges. If you go to college, work a job on the side. Stay in touch with the world outside of your campus. It's invaluable.
PSA, if you're relationship is bad and abusive, break up. If these tortoises who were together for ONE HUNDRED YEARS can do it so can you. XOXO, your fav relationship guru
We accomplished so much in such a short time.
Forget the multiple state & national awards we raked in from our first 10 months on air.
What’s more, to me, is that we provided an immeasurably valuable service to this community. What a privilege to have led that effort.
@kcur
@The_MIP
TL;DR? It's a big deal.
After 23 years, an April hearing was Ricky Kidd's last chance at freedom. His lawyers argued he was innocent & denied a fair trial.
Today, a Judge agreed.
Unless
@jeanpetersbaker
orders a new trial, Ricky Kidd will be free
@kcur
@likaluca
Girl, Woman, Other by
@BernardineEvari
. It's such an engrossing read. I blinked and I was 390 pages deep. So intricate and lovely, and brilliantly woven together.