Podcast appearances and mentions of amy julia harris

ORIGINAL EPISODE DESCRIPTION WHEN PUBLISHED IN JANUARY OF 2019. The Victor Rivera backstory is a raw personal history of growing up surrounded by the nefarious influences of his South Bronx neighborhood in the 1960's.   Did he succumb? Did he fall? Did he subsequently triumph? Episode 14, Part 2 is a true story of this transformational journey as Realty Speak® shifts from talking profit to exploring the spirit of the person, the power of hope and the truth that we all have the capacity to live our best life. UPDATE - MARCH 25th 2021 On February 7th, 2021, a little more than 2 years after this episode was published here on Realty Speak, the NY Times published an investigative report that exposed accusations of sexual abuse and financial impropriety by Victor Rivera in connection with the not for profit Bronx Parent Housing Network (BPHN). It was titled ‘Nobody Tells Daddy No': A Housing Boss's Many Abuse Cases by Amy Julia Harris.  Victor Rivera was summarily dismissed from BPHN and several follow up articles appeared in the NY Times along with an interview with Amy Julia Harris on the NY Times podcast The Daily. Then on March 24th, 2021 the Times published the article "Housing Boss Who Was Accused of Sexual Abuse Now Faces Bribery Charges"  When you listen to the episode from 2 years ago, it does appear that Victor navigated an amazing transformation in his life and was providing housing for the homeless. This story would normally serve as an inspiration to others who are trying to turn their lives around. And for 2 years, I suppose it did. Now however, you read the articles and what he has been accused of - Victor's good story then transforms into a disappointing example of a narrative that apparently did not match his actions. If guilty, a clear and extreme violation of trust. May this particular sequence of events serve as a reminder that success, especially when against the odds, is a gift and certainly never a reason to abandon a moral compass and then use that success to exploit others.

Victim compensation funds are supposed to help victims of crime cover lost wages or funeral expenses. But Reveal teamed up with The Marshall Project and discovered that in some states, African Americans are disproportionately hurt by rules on how that money is handed out. Then, Reveal reporters Amy Julia Harris and Shoshana Walter uncover a scheme at a drug rehabilitation facility in the mountains of North Carolina, where clients are being used as a source of free labor. Don’t miss out on the next big story. Get the Weekly Reveal newsletter today.

Victim compensation funds are supposed to help victims of crime cover lost wages or funeral expenses. But Reveal teamed up with The Marshall Project and discovered that in some states, African Americans are disproportionately hurt by rules on how that money is handed out. Then, Reveal reporters Amy Julia Harris and Shoshana Walter uncover a scheme at a drug rehabilitation facility in the mountains of North Carolina, where clients are being used as a source of free labor. Don’t miss out on the next big story. Get the Weekly Reveal newsletter today.

One good National Murrow winner deserves another. On my last Telling the Story podcast, I interviewed WTVF-TV's Catherine Steward, who won a Large Market TV station National Edward R. Murrow award for Excellence in Sound. She gave an invaluable breakdown of her brilliant production, from her techniques when shooting video to her commitment to gathering audio. Her piece seemed like the pinnacle of a local TV news feature, rooted in traditional storytelling. My guest for this episode went a different route. She told a powerful story as well, but she did it with the foundations of documentary: a steady, slow pace; methodically deployed effects, and a soft bed of music. The piece is called "Recovering from Rehab" - a team-up with Reveal and the Center for Investigative Reporting - and its accompanying investigation became a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. In my earlier post about lessons learned from this year's Murrow winners, here's how I described Merrion's piece: It’s just as effective, just as gripping, but nowhere near as sensational as its analogues in TV. Producer Olivia Merrion and reporters Amy Julia Harris and Shoshona Walter triumph here, with a straightforward but thoroughly reported story about a man sentenced to a year in prison but diverted to an alcoholism recovery program (despite no addiction to alcohol) where he mainly worked on a chicken processing plant. The super-tight shots at the start grab attention immediately, and from there Merrion and her team unfold the story with a deliberate confidence in its content. Merrion is my guest on Episode #65 of the Telling the Story podcast. I have worked in local TV news for my entire career, and I have received tremendous opportunities and national honors while maintaining a relatively stable salary and work-life balance. But when I speak to someone like Merrion - or recent podcast guest Emily Kassie - I always marvel at the allure and creative freedom of the documentarian route. I admire storytellers like Merrion who pursue stories with purpose, passion, and few restrictions for how to approach a subject. She has worked with major outlets and produced nationally recognized work, and she's just five years into her career. → The post PODCAST EPISODE #65: Olivia Loomis Merrion, Murrow-winning documentarian appeared first on Telling The Story.

The collision of the opioid epidemic with criminal justice reform has created a boom for the rehab industry. Those with wealth and insurance often are able to pay thousands of dollars for private long-term programs. But the less fortunate have become easy prey for rehabs with a tantalizing promise: freedom from addiction for free. Reveal reporters Amy Julia Harris and Shoshana Walter have been uncovering the ways that some of these rehabs exploit their desperate clients. In this episode, they describe to host Al Letson the shocking things they found at one rehab in the mountains of North Carolina. Don’t miss out on the next big story. Get the Weekly Reveal newsletter today.

The collision of the opioid epidemic with criminal justice reform has created a boom for the rehab industry. Those with wealth and insurance often are able to pay thousands of dollars for private long-term programs. But the less fortunate have become easy prey for rehabs with a tantalizing promise: freedom from addiction for free. Reveal reporters Amy Julia Harris and Shoshana Walter have been uncovering the ways that some of these rehabs exploit their desperate clients. In this episode, they describe to host Al Letson the shocking things they found at one rehab in the mountains of North Carolina. Don’t miss out on the next big story. Get the Weekly Reveal newsletter today.

No parent wants to put their child in danger. But when parents in some states enroll their children in religious day cares, that’s exactly what happens. On this episode, Reveal reporter Amy Julia Harris discusses what she found when she began investigating the exemptions granted to faith-based day cares. In a handful of states, religious day cares are free from government regulation, a fact some parents learned the hard way. EPISODE NOTES: bit.ly/1ts8hjG