This week’s episode: The ticket trap

Sports, theater and concert fans are itching for events to start happening again. So are clever ticket sellers who’ve figured out ways to cash in on unsuspecting customers shopping online.

Investigating the tricks and traps that await fans buying tickets online

When Reveal reporter Byard Duncan went online to buy tickets for a game between the Philadelphia 76ers and Sacramento Kings in January 2019, he didn’t expect to wind up launching a yearlong investigation. 

He was trying to buy the tickets for a friend’s birthday, so he Googled "Kings-Sixers tickets" and landed on a website called TicketNetwork. Byard paid for what he thought were great seats … but then he never received the tickets. The night before the game, he called TicketNetwork’s customer service number and was told the tickets weren’t available. The customer service rep then offered to sell him a different pair of tickets, in worse seats, for the same price. What the heck? 

As the TicketNetwork customer service line put him on hold, Byard, ever the investigative reporter, started looking up federal court records about TicketNetwork on PACER. He quickly found a complaint for a lawsuit from the New York attorney general's office that accused the company of engaging in "a massive scheme” to trick tens of thousands of unsuspecting consumers into buying tickets that the sellers did not actually have. 

Byard eventually got his money back from TicketNetwork and was able to buy tickets to the game directly from the Sacramento Kings’ box office. But he kept digging and found that his experience of buying nonexistent tickets was part of a multibillion-dollar industry that leaves eventgoers feeling deceived and ripped off.. So Byard sent public records requests for 10 years’ worth of complaints to every state attorney general's office in the country and to the Federal Trade Commission. 

Listen to what he found out on in our latest episode, “The ticket trap.”

At Reveal, we pour the necessary time and resources into investigative reporting that consistently contributes to real-world impact. Because of the generosity of our members, we have the courage, freedom and independence to dedicate our entire newsroom to this work. Thank you for your support.

Meet Reveal’s interim editor in chief 

Sumi Aggarwal has led Reveal’s multi-newsroom editorial partnerships since 2019. And in March, she’ll take on a new role as our interim editor in chief after our current editor in chief, Matt Thompson, departs for a new job. (Congratulations, Matt!)

A bit more about Sumi: After beginning her career at her hometown paper, The Reporter in Vacaville, California, Sumi worked at television stations in Portland and San Francisco, as well as for “Today.” She spent nearly a decade producing award-winning investigations for “60 Minutes” and led executive communications for the maps and search teams at Google.  

We’re so happy to have her leadership as she steps into this role!

In the Field 

What it feels like to get the COVID-19 vaccine 

On the Reveal episode “How the pandemic changed us,” we tagged along with Dr. Taison Bell, a critical care and infectious disease doctor in Charlottesville, Virginia, as he received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. It was a huge moment for Bell, who has seen the racially disparate impact of the pandemic firsthand for months at his hospital. As he told host Al Letson, there was one day doing rounds when he realized one section of the ICU was almost all Latino patients and another section was almost all Black families that he knew and recognized. “I had to stop my team and just say, ‘You know, guys, I just have to say that it is incredibly hard to see the toll that this has taken on the minority community.’” 

When Bell sat down to get the vaccine, all those emotions came rolling back: “All of these complex feelings and emotions all really came to a head the moment that vaccine went into my arm. I finally had this feeling that there's a way to lift this now, that we can finally turn the corner on this.” Bell said the moment felt like the Nina Simone song “Feeling Good,” in which she sings, “It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life for me.” 

Reveal Recommends 

Sarah Mirk is a digital producer at Reveal. She hires illustrators and photographers, lays out stories and writes this newsletter. 

Listening: I am a voracious podcast listener, so it’s hard to choose a favorite. But I think my favorite new show is “Maintenance Phase,” which has way too good of a time discussing scams and backward thinking in the so-called wellness industry.  

Reading: I just finished “Minor Feelings” by Cathy Park Hong, which is so sharp, incisive and relevant.  

Watching: I’ve watched more TV during the past year than I ever have in my life. One show I love is “PEN15,”  which perfectly captures the sweetness, awkwardness and horror of middle-school life in the year 2000. 

You can follow along with Sarah’s work on Twitter at @sarahmirk.

Do you have feedback for Reveal? Send it over! This newsletter was written by Sarah Mirk, who will share your thoughts with the team.