About William Harless
William Harless is Bay Area investigative journalist whose work has been published by The PBS NewsHour, The New York Times, The Center for Investigative Reporting and The Huffington Post. This summer, he will be interning and writing news for The Wall Street Journal.
Harless served in the Peace Corps in rural, northeast Thailand from 2008-2010, teaching HIV/AIDS prevention to farmers' wives, working with his village government on a youth development program and teaching English to primary and middle school students.
He has spent the past seven months filming a documentary about an inner-city high school football team in Richmond, Calif., which will be his master's thesis. This school year, he received the Mark Felt Scholarship for Investigative Reporting from Berkeley's Investigative Reporting Program, where he has researched for FRONTLINE.
Since moving to California a year and a half ago, Harless has broken news of the American Beverage Association campaign against a proposed soft-drink tax in Richmond; and, for The New York Times, written about how major banks let houses they had foreclosed on in low-income East Bay neighborhoods become dilapidated. For The Center for Investigative Reporting, he reported how the largest composting facility in California – where cities including Los Angeles and Beverly Hills were sending their green waste – allowed two young brothers to die while cleaning trash by hand in an underground sewage drain. He was the only American reporter to interview their mother.
In Nashville, Harless's reporting led a longtime congressman to return $40,000 in campaign contributions, and it motivated the city council to pass new financial disclosure regulations for nonprofit organizations receiving city funds. He was known for breaking news there and, before writing for one of the daily newspapers, interned for Nashville Public Radio.
Harless studied English literature at Lipscomb University in Nashville, he has interviewed (briefly) Ke$ha and Taylor Swift (before she was famous) and, in Thailand, sung karaoke to Elvis, the Beatles and Billy Joel. His rendition of "Hey Jude" was a hit, but his performance of "Piano Man" was not.
Education:
- Lipscomb University
- April 2000 - May 2004
- Major in English, Minor in History, Honors Program, GPA: 3.96
Published Stories:
- Deepa Gangwani: Fomenting Change for Indian Trash Collectors
- PBS NewsHour
- William Harless, class of 2013, writes about a young Stanford MBA who's trying to revolutionize trash collection in India.
- Donnel Baird Uses Community Power to Generate Green Energy Projects
- PBS NewsHour
- William Harless, class of 2013, profiles Donnel Baird, a young social entrepreneur who grew up in a one-bedroom apartment and moved on to work for the Obama campaign and to launch a venture providing job training and energy-efficient home products in underserved neighborhoods. None listed.
- Soda industry outspends beverage tax supporters 10-1 in Richmond
- Center for Investigative Reporting / California Watch
- William Harless, class of 2013, continues to follow industry funding of a campaign to defeat a penny-per-ounce soft-drink tax in Richmond, Calif. Story was followed by The Wall Street Journal, KQED and the Contra Costa Times.
- How Important is the Gay and Lesbian Vote for the Upcoming Election?
- PBS NewsHour
- William Harless, class of 2013, writes for the PBS NewsHour about the significance of the LGBT vote in this year's presidential election.
- Beverage lobbyist funds 'community' campaign against soda tax
- Center for Investigative Reporting / California Watch
- William Harless, class of 2013, writes for The Center for Investigative Reporting and California Watch about how the American Beverage Association is helping campaign against a proposed tax on soft drinks and other sweetened beverages in Richmond, Calif.
- Taxes on Unhealthy Foods Gain Traction in Europe
- PBS NewsHour
- William Harless, class of 2013, writes for the PBS NewsHour about how European countries have begun taxing unhealthy foods and beverages.
- The Golden Gate Bridge, 'America's Parthenon,' Turns 75
- PBS NewsHour
- William Harless, class of 2013, made this online slideshow about the 75th anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge for the PBS NewsHour. None listed.
- Growth of composting strains oversight of industry
- Center for Investigative Reporting / California Watch
- William Harless, class of 2013, writes for The Center for Investigative Reporting and California Watch about the deaths of two young, undocumented workers at the largest composting facility in California and about the state's struggle to effectively manage the growing industry. None listed.
- In Richmond, Foreclosed Homes Breed a New Kind of Problem
- The New York Times
- William Harless, class of 2013, writes in The New York Times about the city of Richmond's struggles to pinpoint the parties responsible for deteriorated foreclosed and preforeclosure houses and to hold financial institutions accountable for them.
- A concussion shortchanges the Oilers, but they still fight
- Richmond Confidential
- William Harless, class of 2013, writes in Richmond Confidential about how a struggling, inner-city high school football team rallies after one of its players suffers a concussion.
- Woman Grows Lettuce with the Help of Koi Fish
- The Bay Citizen
- William Harless, class of 2013, writes in The Bay Citizen about how a Bay Area organic farmer is turning koi fish waste into fertilizer for her vegetables.
- In the Iron Triangle, a potluck and a melting pot
- Richmond Confidential
- William Harless, class of 2013, writes in Richmond Confidential about the residents of an inner-city neighborhood who are learning to mix their cultures and to make their block a safe place for children to play again.
- In Richmond, Banks Conceal Ownership of Blighted Homes
- The Bay Citizen
- William Harless, class of 2013, writes in The Bay Citizen about how Richmond, Calif.'s police chief and mayor are taking a tougher stance on banks they said are letting empty, foreclosed houses deteriorate.
- Army Corps Is Criticized for Actions in Flood
- The New York Times
- William Harless, class of 2013, writes in The New York Times about how Tennessee Congressman Jim Cooper criticized the Army Corps of Engineers after the 2010 Nashville flood.
- After Flooding, Nashville Musicians Assess Losses
- The New York Times
- William Harless, class of 2013, writes in The New York Times about how musicians in Nashville took stock after the 2010 flood in Music City.
Books:
Work Experience:
- News Intern
- 88.5 WFDD Public Radio - Winston-Salem NC ( May 2011 - July 2011 )
- Wrote, recorded interviews and edited sound for daily spot news on state and local politics, government and human interest subjects
- Education Volunteer
- U.S. Peace Corps - Amphur Na Kae, Jangwat Nakhon Panom ( January 2008 - January 2010 )
- Primary assignment: with Thais, co-taught English to primary and middle school students at two public schools in two rice farming villages in northeast Thailand; helped coordinate regional English camps for groups of 60-300 students; helped organize an HIV-AIDS educational workshop for farmers’ wives.
- Beat Reporter: Neighborhoods, City Government and Politics
- The City Paper - Nashville TN ( July 2004 - October 2007 )
- Wrote several articles daily; strong emphasis on source building; consistently beat other news outlets.
- News Intern
- WPLN, Nashville Public Radio - Nashville TN ( January 2004 - May 2004 )
- Reported and recorded and edited audio for short news pieces including several regarding the Tennessee General Assembly.
Skills:
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Final Cut Pro 7 and X, Adobe Photoshop CS6, Adobe Premiere CS6, DSLR video shooting, basic HTML, CSS and jQuery; experience organizing workshops
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