Meet the Tennessean reporters who answer your Nashville questions

Tennessee Connect team brings trending service journalism to Nashville

Have you ever been driving through Nashville and wondered what that new building going up is? Or spotted a large crowd and asked yourself what all the commotion is about? Why is traffic so bad today? What’s the best city to raise kids? And when is that severe storm supposed to hit? For nearly the past three years, the Tennessee Connect team has worked to answer questions like these and more. Comprised of a statewide team of reporters, The Tennessean’s trending news desk focuses on the questions Tennesseans are asking every single day, in real time. Diana Leyva and Peter Burditt are the team’s two Nashville reporters.

Meet Diana Leyva

Diana first became interested in journalism while in college, where she held reporting and editorial roles at her student newspaper. An avid writer and reader with a deep fascination for pop culture, it only makes sense that she would eventually find herself covering the topics people just can’t stop talking about. She joined The Tennessean newsroom in March 2023 after completing an internship with the breaking news team and moved to the trending desk a few months later. A lifelong Tennessean, she enjoys reporting on the people and events shaping life in Middle Tennessee.

Q: What is different about the Connect team and trending journalism and why does it interest you? Every day on the trending news team is different. Our job is unique because the workload is constantly changing. Unlike a typical beat, our work spans a wide range of topics, from business and entertainment to culture, weather, and local or societal issues. The work is never boring and never feels stale.

Q: What are the most surprising and random trends you’ve reported on while with the Connect team? Some of the most random topics I’ve covered have been viral TikTok trends, like the summer when everyone was “brat,” before rebranding into being “demure.” On the surface, these moments might seem frivolous, but they actually say a lot about the pop culture zeitgeist. I believe paying attention to these shifts can help us better understand where people are coming from and how different groups connect with one another. Another fun one was the “Twilight” look-alike contest. The competition invited Nashvillians to see how closely they resembled characters from the cult-favorite “Twilight” films. The contest was held in Nashville after similar events popped up around the world. It was silly, but it was also a great example of how communities can come together to share a little joy and whimsy.

Meet Peter Burditt

A former music journalist and alum of Sewanee: The University of the South, Peter joined The Tennessean’s Connect team in 2026 to deliver news in a digestible way. In his first few weeks, Peter has covered everything from the Kid Rock Apache helicopter controversy to Iranian sleeper cells. What Peter enjoys most about being a Connect and trending reporter is the ability to directly answer readers’ questions about the most pressing and viral events.

Q: Being relatively new to the Connect team, what have you discovered in your short time about being a trending news reporter? So far in my time with the Connect team, I’ve learned that people’s interests can change as quickly as the wind, making it both challenging and exciting to deliver timely, high-quality news.

Q: What kind of stories are you most excited about covering during your time with Connect? When I check the news each morning, the stories that excite me most are ongoing ones. I thoroughly enjoy serving as a real-time moderator and keeping readers updated as stories develop.

Do you have a question about Nashville, or the greater Middle Tennessee area you want answered? Reach out to Diana at dleyva@gannett.com or Peter at PBurditt@nashvill.gannett.com

Published on: Apr 19, 2026 10:00:53 UTC