Creating the "51 Days of Terror" Podcast

Interviewing Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn one year after the arrest in the Seminole Heights serial killings.

The entire series is out now! You can listen on iTunes, Google Podcasts and Spotify. 

Sunday, we officially finished our final episode of 51 Days of Terror. I felt like this was the first moment in four months my head was above water. I'd spent countless hours researching, writing, interviewing, approving scripts and going through episodes. Somewhere in between I planned and went on my 30th birthday trip, but the podcast was hanging over my head the entire time. When it was over, I finally felt this weight lifted off of me.

Then, I realized, the families of the victims will never have that feeling. They'll always feel a weight on them. Every family dinner, every vacation, every time someone walks through the door who isn't the person they lost—those moments will just remind them of the weight on them.

I'm not saying I've moved on from the podcast. You can't sit in someone's living room and talk about the night they lost their child and really ever move on. I feel connected to these victims, their families and this story in a way I've never experienced with any other project I've done.

For those of you who don't know, 51 Days of Terror follows the investigation into four murders that happened in the Seminole Heights neighborhood of Tampa in 2017. Fifty-one days after the first killing, police made an arrest in the case.

Going over one of the episodes with our team.

Every time there's a series of murders followed by an arrest, I always see viewers asking to learn more about the victims and less about the suspect. We can tell the victims' stories on television, but it's impossible to put together something truly meaningful when you only have a little more than a minute to get it done. I wanted to show it could be done if we used a different form of storytelling.

Thankfully, I found someone who felt the same. When I went to Amanda Ciavarri with my plan to do a podcast on the Seminole Heights serial killings and to have the main focus on the victims, she was immediately onboard. The same goes for our digital producer, Heather Monahan. We worked for months before we even brought the pitch to our boss because we wanted to be sure this was something we could tackle the right way. Serendipitously, our editor, Dallas Cotton, started just as we were entering the editing stage and he was the perfect person to execute our vision.

I know a lot of journalists wax poetic about their "noble" intentions and I don't want to come off like them. Like I did someone a favor by telling the story of their loved one. They did me the favor. They're the ones who allowed me to ask them questions about the worst moment of their lives and were so giving with their experiences.

I not only wanted to tell the stories of the victims but of their families. I wanted to show people it doesn't end after the arrest. Murder has a ripple effect and it changes the lives of everyone involved, from the families to the neighborhood to the first responders. Everyone is changed in some way, shape or form and a lot of them can never go back to how life was before.

Going through research before writing
an episode. 

During this journey, there were several times when I took a moment to thank God for putting me in a position to tell these stories. I knew this was what he wanted me to be doing at this moment. Benjamin Mitchell, Monica Hoffa, Anthony Naiboa and Ronald Felton are all in his hands now, but he called on me to play a small part in telling their stories and making sure they aren't forgotten.

Today, the final episode of the podcast was released. You can listen to the entire series on iTunes, Google Podcasts and Spotify. You'll learn a lot about the case and a lot about the way the victims were killed, but I hope what you take away from it is how they lived.

New Job, New Start, Same Old State

Surprisingly, it's been almost two years since I moved to Winston-Salem. I've learned so much as a producer and even made some lifelong friends after the first year. Most importantly, I got to spend a lot of time with my grandfather. There were some tough and lonely moments, but I wouldn't change a thing. 

Now, I'm getting ready to move to Tampa, Florida. I'm heading back to the Sunshine State (and the warm weather) as a producer for the NBC station there, WFLA. I start in January. 

My journey to this point is a true testament to the fact that God really does always have a better plan for you than you do for yourself. My goal was always to work on my producing skills and be strong enough to land a job at a station I'd been eyeing in Orlando. Over the summer I was able to get an interview with them and, long story short, they liked me, but they were looking for someone with more experience working the night shift.

I was bummed, to say the least. 

But I kept my faith and within a month emails started pouring in from stations across the country. A lot of managers saw my work on YouTube and wanted to know if I'd consider coming to work for them as a producer or executive producer. I even spoke with a station in New York City, but the timing didn't line up. 

I was weighing my potential options when I received an email from a station in Tampa. They flew me down and I knew pretty quickly that this was the right move for me. Everything I'd been hoping to find in my next job seems to be exactly what they're offering. 

I'm mentioning all of this to remind anyone who may have lost out an opportunity that God really does have a better plan for you. I used to be devastated when something I want didn't happen, but now I just get a little bummed. It may not be what I had in mind, but I always know something better is coming. 

So, don't give up when your Orlando says "no" because Tampa is about to knock on your door. You just need to have faith. 

P.S. Thank you to some of my amazing coworkers and family for dealing with my work search craziness (and now my moving craziness). It would be hard to make it through my mini freakouts without you all! 

New Year, Big Changes

Last year was busy and rough, but I'm hoping for good things in 2017. (artwork by Nneka Myers)

I moved away from home last year and it brought on a host of new challenges. I had to make new relationships, figure out my way around a new job and learn the politics of a new state. I just celebrated my first anniversary and, although it was a pretty rough road sometimes, I'm looking forward to another year.

I realized something important in 2016: I don't have time for Feather Magazine anymore. I shut the publican down for a little while a few years ago, but I always knew that I'd bring it back (and I did). This time, we're gone for good. My computer's been evil, but it's back in action now, so we'll start posting our last stories in a few days and then it's all over in March. The site will stay up at least until the end of the year, though.

I've met so many wonderful writers through Feather and grown so much as a person from reading their experiences. I'm proud of the work we did, but more about the positive work environment we created. I wanted something uplifting for the readers and for our writers. I'm elated that we were able to achieve those goals. 

So, I won't be doing Feather this year. But that doesn't mean, I'm just working my producing job. I've got some stuff in the works, but I learned a long time ago not to discuss anything until you're sure it's going to work out. 

This year I will...

Focus on myself more. I worked a lot last year, which I don't regret. I wanted more experience and, of course, the overtime pay. But I sacrificed self-care to do it. This year, I'm going to find the balance.

Get healthier. Isn't this everyone's resolution? With my work schedule, I can often be half asleep by the time I get off, but I'm planning to join a YMCA (there aren't many traditional gyms here, surprisingly) and go right after work. My job actually gifted us with some bags for Christmas that are perfect for the gym.

Learn to cook. I think I've made this resolution about four times. I bought a Crock Pot last year, though, which makes cooking a lot easier. I've made a couple of tasty things, so if I only made strides cooking with that, I'll feel like I accomplished this one.

Travel to visit loved ones. I haven't been to see my family in New York in about five years. I also haven't gone to Texas to visit my best friend or made a trip to Tampa just to see another of my BFFs. Those are all on my list this year, along with my requisite trips home. I'm also going to stop traveling to see people who never return the favor. Ya'll know where I live!

Fight for what's fair. Unlike Fox News, I don't take the phrase "fair and balanced" with a grain of salt in my work. There were a couple of times in 2016 that I had to stand up for what I thought was right when it came to covering stories and I'm sure that I'll have to do the same this year. 

Remember the Fourth Estate. Unfortunately, a lot of journalists forget that we have a Constitutional duty toward the American people. The parts of the First Amendment that handle freedom of the press, free speech, etc. were created to hold lawmakers accountable for their actions. I know a lot of people want to pander to the lowest common denominator, but I'm going to remember that my job is to tell the truth. Sometimes, that will make people angry, but facts are facts and it's worse if I try to pretty them up or ignore them altogether.