Reckon and AL.com win Southeast Regional Emmy for film on court costs that keep people in debt

Reckon.news and AL.com won a Southeast Regional Emmy during a ceremony Saturday night at the Grand Hyatt in Atlanta.

The win came in the Public Affairs Program - Single Program category for a collaboration between Reckon.news and AL.com on “Pulled Over/Pulled Under,” featuring the work of Anissa Latham, Sydney Batten, John Archibald and Amanda Khorramabadi.

“We’re proud that this documentary could shine a light on a problem seriously impacting the lives of people in Alabama and around the country. We’re grateful so many people shared their stories with us and trusted us to tell them,” said Kelly Ann Scott, editor-in-chief and vice president of content for Alabama Media Group.

The 17-minute film, directed by Latham and narrated by Archibald, spotlights Alabama activist Callie Greer and her daughters, who were jailed for not paying traffic fines.

The film features advocates for working-class people, elected officials and others who illustrate how exorbitant fines, fees and other court costs keep people in debt and poverty.

The film was completed with support of a grant from the Ira A. Lipman Center for Journalism and Civil and Human Rights at the Columbia Journalism School. The grant also supported an investigation into the town of Brookside, and its police department’s practice of aggressively ticketing motorists, revenues from which accounted for 50 percent of the city budget.

Others nominated for an Emmy from AL.com/Alabama Media Group were:

Societal Concerns -News “What Harm Am I Doing?” The video was a collaboration between AL.com, The Alabama Education Lab and Reckon by multimedia journalists Kavolshaia Howze and Amanda Khorramabadi, and built on reporting from Savannah Tryens-Fernandes.

Sports Program –Post-Produced or Edited –Series

“Roger McCreary: Road to the Pros,” Wesley Sinor, Laura Goldman, AL.com/Alabama Media Group

Arts/Entertainment -Short Form Content

“Trust the Voice Within,” Anissa Latham, Dawson Estes, Sydney Batten, Tamika Moore Red Clay Media

Director -Long Form Content

Anissa Latham, Reckon