Our Mission
The Nashville Banner is a locally owned, community-supported civic news organization. We exist to empower the citizens of Nashville and Tennessee to make informed decisions by providing non-partisan journalism from an independent, nonprofit newsroom. We are digital-first, with no paywall for our stories because we believe everyone should have access to news.
The Banner is a direct response to the decline of public service journalism in Tennessee.
Editorial Staff
Steve Cavendish is the president and editor. A 25-year veteran of newspapers including the Chicago Tribune and The Washington Post, Steve returned to Nashville in 2011 and edited both The City Paper and Nashville Scene.
Demetria Kalodimos is the executive producer. She is a household name in Nashville, having anchored and reported news for 34 years at the city’s first television station, WSMV. She has won many of the most prestigious awards in broadcast journalism and has produced feature-length documentaries and programs for the festival circuit and nationally on PBS.
Connor Daryani, intern. A Dallas native, Connor moved to Nashville to attend Belmont University, where he came to journalism through the student newspaper, the Belmont Vision. He will be graduating in August with a degree in journalism. He previously covered the Tennessee state legislature 2023 session in a freelance capacity for the Nashville Scene.
Addison Wright, intern. Addison Wright, a Nashville native, is a student-athlete on the swim team at UNC Asheville, where she is double majoring in Mass Communications and Political Science in the class of 2024.
Business Staff
Paige Hendrickson is the director of development. A fundraiser specializing in nonprofit news organizations, Paige comes from WPLN where she raised millions for public radio.
Board of Directors
Steve Cavendish President & Editor, Nashville Public Media
Bruce Dobie President/CEO, Power Poll
Beth Fortune Retired Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs, Vanderbilt University
Tené Franklin Vice President, Health Leads
Michael Whitley (Chair) New York Times
Advisory Board
Jacky Akbari, Founder and Managing Principal, Worthington Advisory
Samar Ali, Research Professor, Vanderbilt University, Millions of Conversations
Derek Crownover, Partner, Loeb & Loeb
Alfred Degrafinreid, CEO, Leadership Tennessee
Kriste Goad, Chief Fire Starter, Fuoco
Jose Gonzalez, Faculty, Belmont University; Co-founder and Finance Director, Conexion Americas
Jennifer Johnston, Writer
Baylor Bone Swindell, Principal, The Baylor Company