ABOUT
My name is Andryanna Sheppard. I’m the Consumer Investigative Reporter at WINK News, the CBS-affiliate serving Fort Myers, Naples and the rest of Southwest Florida. I’m passionate about helping others keep as much money in their pockets as possible, especially during the worst inflation the United States has seen in about 40 years.
I joined WINK News as a multimedia journalist in February 2020 after nearly 3 years at KDRV NewsWatch 12, the ABC-affiliate of Southern Oregon and Northern California. In July 2021, I was promoted to Consumer Investigative Reporter. I’ve made it my mission to help viewers stretch their dollars in their already tight budgets. I have also been the go-to reporter in this market regarding information and investigations into Florida’s homeowners insurance crisis. After Hurricane Ian, I’ve helped countless victims get their insurance checks, fix their homes and finally put the physical reminders of the devastating storm behind them.
My website has several tabs showing the main topics I’ve covered since I became WINK’s Consumer Investigative Reporter. As you scroll down the home page, you’ll find my résumé and my reel displaying creative standups, live shots and some stories I’ve worked on over the last four years. Both my reel and résumé have their own pages as well.
The “Investigations” tab has six stories. I investigated a Florida homeowners insurance company in the next two stories. The company is suing more than a hundred of its policyholders for repairing their homes more than a year after Hurricane Ian. These three stories led to the state looking into whether the insurance company can actually take their customers to court. I’m expecting to shed more light on this company in the coming weeks. The following story shows what happens when you don’t research a pet store before you spend thousands on a furry family member. One family learned the hard way and is now suing the infamous store for selling them a sick puppy. The next story dives into the City of Fort Myers keeping their promise to turn an old lime sludge site in an underserved neighborhood into a park. The park still does not exist. You’ll also find a story about my struggle making sure my preventive colonoscopy was covered.
In the “Insurance Crisis” tab, you’ll see stories all about Florida’s homeowners insurance crisis. You’ll find stories about premiums costing more than mortgages, the state promising to help pay some folks’ deductibles without a plan ahead of the announcement and how homeowners could miss out on thousands of dollars in their returns since Congress did not declare Hurricane Ian a 'qualified disaster.’ This reporting led to Congress giving Ian that distinction.
The “Getting Results” page shows three stories of viewers coming to me with problems they tried fixing themselves but could not yield results. I helped a homeowner get a new and cleared check from her insurance company to repair her home after she was hit with an “insufficient funds” charge when she tried to cash the first check the company gave her. Florida Power and Light lowered one woman’s $13,000 power bill once I stepped in. She received that bill about a month after Hurricane Ian even though the storm knocked out her home’s electricity for weeks. Another woman was finally able to put that devastating storm behind her after I helped her get answers and money from her insurance company. Right below that is the final story in the years long investigation into an unlicensed contractor. My reporting led to his arrest and later conviction after a family accused him of taking their money to repair their Hurricane Irma-damaged condo. Their in the process of getting their money back almost 7 years after they first hired the unlicensed contractor.
The "Savvy Shopping” page shows just a taste of some of the stories I did after tracking the prices of the same 10 common grocery items at the same Walmart, Target and Publix over the last three years. You can see how much money the same basket will cost you now compared to 2021. I also discovered shoppers spend more money opting to pay for their groceries online and pick them up in store at the convenience instead of going up and down the aisles and paying at the register themselves.
In the final “In the Community" tab, you’ll find a number of stories educating and uplifting the community as well as exposing injustices. There are stories about the racial disparities in surviving breast cancer and the neighborhoods around Southwest Florida without access to fresh food and grocery stores.
I believe all of the stories you will find on this website show my skills and dedication to helping others through journalism. I’m looking for my next opportunity that will allow me to keep doing that and challenge me to be an even better reporter.
