Episode 29 - Joey Garrison's Exit Interview

Nashville Sounding Board

After a decade of reporting in Nashville, Joey Garrison is off to Boston! Joey covered Metro Nashville government and local politics for The Tennessean after covering local issues including education for the Nashville City Paper. Topics by minute: 1:23 - When are you launching your sports podcast? 3:00 - Would you rather see a Preds Stanley Cup, Titans Super Bowl or Vandy Final Four? 4:30 - How did you get into journalism? 7:36 - What is one thing that people might not know about your background? 8:55 - How will your job in Boston compare to your beat in Nashville? 11:05 - City Paper or Tennessean, which one was your favorite experience? 12:12 - Experience covering education 14:15 - Reporting on Great Hearts Academy story 16:30 - Did you prefer covering education or Metro government? 19:00 - 2019 Mayoral election and John Cooper's decision 22:00 - Bill Freeman's chances 24:20 - What reporting that you did in Nashville are you most proud of? 25:30 - Reporting on the Megan Barry scandal 29:20 - What's the most frustrating part about local journalism? 32:15 - Layoffs and the future of local papers 34:20 - You win the lottery and become a publisher -- who do you hire? 36:00 - What's your best story idea that never ran? 37:25 - Who is the most interesting local politician who people may not know about? 38:17 - Would you ever consider working in an elected official's administration? 38:45 - Thoughts on working for a PR firm? 40:00 - Joey's thoughts on the direction of Nashville 42:25 - Joey's idea for reforming council meetings 45:35 - What advice would you have for a college student interested in a journalism career? 47:00 - What will you miss most about Nashville? 48:25 - Any plans to return to Nashville? 48:45 - Signing off with some closing thoughts