Graham Media Group Announces New Season of 'Shattered' Podcast on Panoply

New York NY, USA—Graham Media Group announces the new, eight-episode season of “Shattered,” an original true-crime podcast series. Season 2, hosted by Kevin Dietz, takes listeners through the life of Richard Wershe Jr. aka ‘White Boy Rick,’ the youngest ever FBI informant turned drug dealer.

Season two of the eight-part series, Shattered: White Boy Rick chronicles the series of circumstances that led a 14-year-old Richard Wershe Jr. to become a valuable drug informant during the apex of the War on Drugs. Once the FBI and Detroit Police Department did not need Wershe’s information anymore, he became a drug dealer in his own right, only to be sentenced to life without parole when he was 17. Dietz, an Investigative Reporter with WDIV-Local 4 who has covered local news in Detroit for almost three decades, takes listeners through the life of Richard Wershe Jr., aka White Boy Rick.

Ro Coppola, Executive Producer of Special Projects at WDIV says, “When Dietz decided to take on the story of White Boy Rick, he just didn’t report the facts. He lived and breathed the story, doggedly finding every angle possible and every interview available by spending days, nights and many weekends with those close to this story. He single-handedly kept Wershe’s parole story alive in the public and with the authorities.”

“The story of Richard Wershe Jr. is unique on many levels,” says Dietz, host of the series. “From behind bars, Wershe helped the FBI catch more criminals but also became involved in an illegal car theft ring. While some in law enforcement say his informing should have led to his release from prison decades ago, others say his willingness to help steal cars shows he has not been reformed and should stay locked up. Wershe holds the dubious honor of being the longest serving non violent juvenile offender in Michigan history and remains behind bars today more than 30 years after his arrest.”

The series features extensive interviews with Wershe, law enforcement officials, former drug bosses, legal professionals who worked on the case, as well as family and friends of Wershe’s. The podcast is released in advance of the forthcoming Hollywood feature film, also titled “White Boy Rick,” starring Matthew McConaughey (who appears in the podcast as well).

Shattered: White Boy Rick premieres on September 6, 2018. The entire series will be available for free on Apple Podcasts, or your preferred podcast listening platform.

About Graham Media Group

Graham Media Group, a subsidiary of Graham Holdings Company (NYSE: GHC), owns seven local television stations - each in a top-70 market and all recognized as news leaders: KPRC–Houston, WDIV– Detroit and WSLS–Roanoke (NBC); KSAT–San Antonio (ABC); WKMG–Orlando(CBS); WJXT–Jacksonville (fully local), and WCWJ–Jacksonville (CW), as well as Social News Desk, a leading provider of social media management tools designed to connect newsrooms with their users.

The stations also broadcast digital channels focusing on classic television and lifestyle programming, in addition to operating market-leading websites, mobile sites and mobile apps delivering breaking news, weather and community news, reaching millions of users across each platform. All are deeply involved in local initiatives and public service projects designed to serve, inform and improve their respective communities.

About Panoply Media

Panoply Media is a full-service podcast company that delivers breakthrough technology for audio creators and advertisers, and produces compelling programs. Panoply’s Megaphone hosting and ad- insertion platform offers sophisticated publishing and monetization features unavailable anywhere else in the industry. Our best-in-class software and services power top networks and publishers, including HowStuffWorks, Gimlet, The Wall Street Journal, Buzzfeed and WBUR. In partnership with Nielsen, Megaphone Targeted Marketplace (MTM) enables advertisers to target more than 60,000 audience segments. Panoply’s production studios offer premium content that includes shows such as Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History, Empire on Blood, Happier with Gretchen Rubin, You Must Remember This, The Message and By The Book.