Companies across the South profited off the forced labor of people in prison after the Civil War – a racist system known as convict leasing.
Michael Montgomery
Senior Reporter and Producer
Michael Montgomery is a senior reporter and producer for Reveal. He has led collaborations with the Associated Press, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, Frontline, KQED and others.
Previously, Montgomery was a senior reporter at American Public Media, a special correspondent for the BBC and an associate producer with CBS News. He began his career in eastern Europe, covering the fall of communism and wars in former Yugoslavia for the Daily Telegraph and Los Angeles Times. His investigations into human rights abuses in the Balkans led to the arrest and conviction of Serbian and Albanian paramilitaries and creation of a new war crimes court based in The Hague. Montgomery’s honors include Murrow, Peabody, IRE, duPont, Third Coast and Overseas Press Club awards. He is based in Reveal’s Emeryville, California, office.
The Bitter Work Behind Sugar
On a vast plantation in the Dominican Republic, Haitian migrants still use machetes to harvest sugarcane that’s exported to the U.S. The workers are protesting poor working and living conditions.
A Reckoning at Amazon
Who is shipping out all those holiday season packages? As Amazon has made huge profits, their worker injury rates are higher than other companies.
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US Bans Sugar Imports From Top Dominican Producer Over Forced Labor Allegations
In an investigation by Reveal and Mother Jones, workers for the Central Romana Corp. spoke of inadequate protective gear, poor medical care, withheld pensions and debt.
How Democracy Survived the Midterm Elections
Following the 2020 election, it looked like the midterms could create more chaos. But mostly, they didn’t. Why?
The Ballot Boogeymen
Extreme new laws built on Trump’s Big Lie crack down on a phantom problem: widespread voter fraud.
Locked Up: The Prison Labor That Built Business Empires
Companies across the South profited off the forced labor of people in prison after the Civil War – a racist system known as convict leasing.
Can Our Climate Survive Bitcoin?
Bitcoin uses enormous amounts of power, and it’s heating up the planet.
A Reckoning at Amazon
Workers at Amazon were getting hurt on the job more than at other companies. Those records were under wraps – until our reporting uncovered them.
Can Our Climate Survive Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is hot – and it’s heating up the planet, too. Making bitcoin uses enormous amounts of power.