Honored to receive 2nd place in this year's
@HeadlinerAwards
for "Online investigative reporting for digital partnerships" for the joint
@FloodlightNews
/ NPR story on solar farm misinformation
Received this text on Saturday from a male source who I had professional drinks with last week.
This is the reality of being a female reporter thatβs not often depicted on TV.
New investigation from me: A 5 month long investigation with
@NPR
@davidfolkenflik
&
@marioarizabaez
for
@FloodlightNews
tracked how 2 major power companies infiltrated news sites in order to manipulate positive coverage and in some cases-- oust adversarial political foes
π§΅
EXCLUSIVE: Part 2 of the
@floodlightnews
investigation with
@NPR
highlights a real incidence of Fake News.
Have you heard or been interviewed by ABC News producer Kristen Hentschel? Then you might want to read this.
Iβve been a journalist my entire career and in the age of Me Too I still canβt believe how many movies and shows contain the old sexist trope that female reporters get their stories through sex. 1/x π§΅
We must take bold action on climate change & create a green economy that benefits all Americans. Thank you to
@sunrisemvmt
& activists for your inspiring work. Excited to support a
#GreenNewDeal
.
@thesarahkelly
The first thing he said to me was βyouβre shorter than you look in your photos.β When I politely declined a second date request the next night, he Vemoed requested me for my drinks
The reporting found that Alabama Power and Florida Power and light paidπ΅ to the consulting firm Matrix LLC, which secured influence across 6 local news sites in Alabama and Florida.
EPA head says his use of first class travel is for security:
βWe've reached the point where there's not much civility in the marketplace and it's created, you know, it's created some issues and the (security) detail."
She said that she was a national reporter. She was a corporate operative
The same month that Hentschel began working for ABC News as a freelance producerπ₯, she was also hired by consulting firm Matrix LLC. π°
AL residents are among the poorest in the US & pay some of the nation's most expensiveπ‘bills.
Alabama Power hadn't had to open its books to explain the high π΅ in 30 yrs.
Terry Dunn ran for energy regulator to ask: WHY?
He was met with character attacks in the local press
Last night AOC said of Biden's climate proposal: βIf the same politicians who refused to act then, are going to try to come back today and say we need to have a βmiddle of the road approachβ to save our lives, that is too much for me.β
@mari_matsuda
@adrs
βRich girlsβ feels like a very loaded, judgmental term here. No one should have to go such extremes or pay that much for healthcare, whether they have the means to do so, or not
NEW from me &
@davidfolkenflik
:
Chevron since 2009 has been building a network of news seeming sites from Ecuador to Richmond, CA to, most recently, the Permian Basin.
Just spoke to
@AOC
who takes issue with the scale of
@JoeBiden
βs new climate plan. She says some action must be taken by 2030, not 2050.
In contrast, she calls
@JayInslee
βs climate plan the βGolden Standad.β
No, sheβs not endorsing.. yet. She said
Incredible. EPA's own data suggests 18 percent of streams and 51 percent of wetlands would lose protection under the new rule.
An EPA spokesperson today appeared to lie to reporters, saying the data does not exist.
Never had a better-timed FOIA response than last night.
@KevinBogardus
told me we got one back showing how many wetlands and streams are excluded from Trump
#WOTUS
minutes after EPA said there was no data.
#FOIA4EVA
Matrix paid Hentschel at least $14,350 & billed 2 companies for some of her work labeling payments βfor Florida Crystals, FPLβ π¬π
Our investigation found that Hentschel traded on her ABC connections 3 times to trip up politicians whose green stances challenged Matrix clients
Articles & columns in
@yhn
&
@ALReporter
walloped the Tea Party conservative.
"Mostly everything was all made up" Dunn says "You get to thinking 'Why are they attacking me?' I'm just telling the truth
He lost his re-election. Residents still haven't had a rate hearing in 40 yrs
Matrix shrewdly took advantage of the near collapse of the local newspaper industry, which "has created a vacuum that I think tends to be filled by people who have agendas beyond serving the public interest," says former Miami Herald executive editor Tom Fiedler.
In Florida, docs show that Matrix backed
@TheCapitolist
, took direct requests from Florida Power and Lights's Eric Silagy.
The Capitolist wrote an article slamming
@MiamiHerald
3 days after Silagy sent an email suggesting it.
Small but significant change here:
A House energy subcommittee is changing its name from the Subcommittee on Environment to the "Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change."
A tally of the five still-functioning Matrix linked sites show they have a collective audience of 1.3 million unique monthly visitors.
These readers have been unknowingly immersing themselves in an echo chamber of questionable coverage for years. π
In another instance,
@TheCapitolist
editor asked Matrix leaders for insight on whether to post a story that might be at odds with FPL's messaging.
He was given the green light. β³οΈ
The three Incidents included:
1) Filming a gotcha style video of FL State Rep. Toby Overdorf
@TobyOverdorf
, accusing him of being complicit in the murder of over 20 protected gopher tortoises π’π’π’
This might be a good time to share some Personal News:
I'm joining
@FloodlightNews
as a contributing editor and investigative reporter.
I'm excited to be re-united with
@emilyhholden
and help her build a much needed non-profit climate investigation platform
Many more stories TK
In Alabama and Florida, Matrix sought to ensure much coverage was secretly driven by the priorities of its clients.
Payments flowed as the utilities in Florida and Alabama fought efforts to incorporate more clean energy in electric grids β a fight they are still waging.
Some news: Iβm joining
@thehill
as a Congressional reporter covering Environment & Energy. Grateful for the wonderful learning Iβve had
@CNNPolitics
Other owners, like
@PeterSchorschFL
of
@Fla_Pol
who take $$ from FPL, deny a pay to play. But he doesn't think there's an ethical issue with merging advertising $$ with a promise of more coverage. He calls the a-typical practice: "Combination journalism"
Overdorf wanted clean water.
Both Florida Crystals and FPL could have benefited from Hentschel's attempts to undermine him
"Residents say they aren't buying it," Hentschel declared in the news-style video she later posted online.
Received this text on Saturday from a male source who I had professional drinks with last week.
This is the reality of being a female reporter thatβs not often depicted on TV.
It took the unraveling of Matrix to reveal the full extent of its influence.
At the end of 2020, Pitts left Matrix to start his own rival consulting firm called Canopy Partners. Perkins sued Pitts, and then thousands of pages of internal docs, began to leak.
This story is the 5th piece in an ongoing series of reporting we've been following, on how the fossil fuel industry and utilities are taking advantage of the collapse of news.
NEW from me &
@davidfolkenflik
:
Chevron since 2009 has been building a network of news seeming sites from Ecuador to Richmond, CA to, most recently, the Permian Basin.
Overdorf ultimately won his race.
A report from his district also found there were no dead gopher tortoises, in fact they couldnβt find proof they had ever existed on the site. π’
Read the full story:
Despite knowing Matrix's influence in his race, today Dunn's fight has been replaced by resentment.
"Alabamians bitched about high power bills, but when they had someone that would address it, they abandoned me," Dunn says. "So let them struggle to keep the lights on."
As the writer strike continues on, and we look for new stories with unique angles. I really can only hope this perspective of the promiscuous reporter is gone for good.
Hollywood can do better than this. And so can everyone else. 17/17
But who is Hentschel, who sometimes goes by Kristyn Caddell?
She began her career in local news. But her career foundered in 2011 when the National Enquirer disclosed an affair between her and Chris Hansen, the former host of To Catch a Predator
ICYMI: Maine Sen. Susan Collins received five times the donations from the Texas Oil and Gas industry as she did from Mainers
Story with
@AlexGangitano
2) Trespassing into the private community of GOP
@RepBrianMast
, who has a well-worn opposition to Florida Crystals, the largest producer of sugar in the U.S.
He filed a police report and posted a FB video naming her the month before his re-election.
New from me:
@FloodlightNews
worked 6 months on this investigation that shows rare insight into how much unchecked power utilities have in the US.
From hiring PIβs to trail reporters, to dirty tricks to influence election outcomes.
New EPA letter to
@SenJohnBarrasso
confirms that Pruitt has three emails-- said the one he now uses for "day to day" communications must now be changed
3) Attempting to film South Miami Mayor Phil Stoddard
@PKStoddard
after a commission meeting and asking damning qs.
Stoddard had clashed with Florida Power & Light over transmission lines, a nuclear power plant, and policies on residential solar panels π‘
Itβs not just tired, itβs pervasive.
Name something with a woman reporter in it. Many sexualize her either as a character of romantic interest who just so happens to bend the rules, or are all out villains with no concept of ethics or integrity. 2/x
Rep. Mast ultimately won his election. But he can still barely conceal his fury.
βThere's an appropriate way to affect official duties of a representative in an official policy,β he says. βSomebody came to threaten my family. Thatβs very serious to me."
Afterwards, dozens of women messaged me to say it was for those same reasons they no longer met with sources at night. Or wore fake wedding rings.
This reality still guts me. Itβs our job to meet with people. 13/x
I lived in DC when House of Cards came out.
For years, I was introduced at parties jokingly as Zoe Barnes.
My go to response was: βBut I donβt sleep with congressmenβ 8/x
Imagine painting that picture for any other profession.
-A female lawyer trying to win any case?
-A woman salesperson trying to sell a membership?
-A lady stockbroker closing a deal.
9/x
Back in Richmond, residents are left largely to deduce their own news when it comes to the refinery next door.
When a 2021 oil spill occurred, it was a local, not Chevron who alerted authorities.
People wonder why trust in media is down? How can this not be part of it?
As a reporter myself I definitely have had to navigate the uncomfortable terrain of building sources who might think I want something more than facts. 11/x
Green groups are praising
@JoeBiden
's new climate plan despite previously knocking
@BetoORourke
's similar policy.
Why?
One source tells me it may be tied to a fear to hit the top Democratic candidate
NEW: Sen and House Dems are sending a letter to Trump after conducting a private interview w/ Kevin Chmielewski this week, the EPA employee who was put on leave for questioning Pruitt's spending
"It appears that you may not have received all of the facts..."
New investigation from me &
@Sammy_Roth
:
A gas industry campaign paid residents in LA and Long Beach to testify at hearings in favor of pushing gas fueled trucks over EV's.
The industry won.
For
@latimes
and
@guardian
CA politics right now getting weird:
GOP Gov candidate John Cox gets served a subpoena during a debate.
Former Rep. Doug Ose also running for Gov dropped out of the race today after having a heart attack this weekend
Big win for Joshua Tree enthusiasts today.
A federal district court in LA has ruled that the Fish and Wildlife Service violated the law when they failed to list the tree as endangered in 2019, under Trump, despite the science
New investigation from me.
I spent the past 7 months digging into a contradiction: SoCal has the worst air quality in the nationβto fix it its air agency has spent millions to subsidize natural gas.
And there are virtually no resources for women in this industry who face such harassment.
My boss at the time saw my tweet, he emailed me to say he was sorry I went through that.
Then we both moved on 14/x
Trump's comments on childhood cancer are striking compared to criticism recently lobbed at his EPA for failing to regulate a well known cancer-causing paint stripper and PFAS--which can cause...