Double Page Spread on being an Investigations Editor + Evaluation

This is my double page spread on being an Investigations Editor. I got the template from Moodle but I changed it about. Firstly I changed the font for both the titles. Then I changed the background image on the first page. It was some pattern thing but I wanted something that linked in with Investigative Journalism. I then changed the font type and the size. My first draft of the article was over 2000 words long and didn't fit on the pages. So I had to go back, edit it and shorten it down and I got what you see now. There was so much space that I just put some black circle thing there to make it good to look at. Writing the article wasn't actually that bad. All I did was write about what I had researched and then added my own opinions and paragraphs. If anything it was easy, maybe I've done it wrong and that's probably why it was easy but its too late to change it now. However if I could change it I would have probably designed my own template, well I would have done it this time round had I more time. Yeah I'd design my own template and design and show step by steps on how I did it. I'd also maybe put some colour in there, because at the moment it's looking pretty emoish so its not that appealing. Also I would defiantly of spent more time preparing for the interview with Brian Flynn. I had his number for about two weeks but didn't phone him and actually interview until the last minute because I was nervous. He defiantly had a lot to say and I feel that had I worked more and planned what I  wanted to get out of the interview rather then asking 3 simple/boring questions I could have got a better experience and more detailed more important stuff. Next time I interview someone I will defiantly look back on this.

Political Journalist Job Advert

This is my advert for a Political Journalist. I created it using Illustrator and used shape tools, flare tool and the text box tool. Its simple and still gets the message across. As political journalism is a very stressful career I decided I would mention that so if this were a real advert the reader would understand what they could be getting themselves into. I used brown colours to contrast between the bold black writing, and I thought it went well with the kind of advert I designed.

I did make one mistake, I miss spelled 'stressful'. So I decided to go back and change it. Will doing this i accidently clicked the eraser tool and erased a straight line. It then gave me the idea to create lines within the design to give it a more creative yet professional flare. Here is the 2nd job ad.

Basic job role of an Investigations Editor

As an investigations editor you will have to handle many legal documents and be able to summarise and conclude investigations.    

  

•    Analysis of documents, such as lawsuits and other legal documents, tax records, government reports, regulatory reports, and corporate financial filings  

•    Databases of public records  

•    Investigation of technical issues, including scrutiny of government and business practices and their effects  

•    Research into social and legal issues  

•    Subscription research sources such as LexisNexis  

•    Numerous interviews with on-the-record sources as well as, in some instances, interviews with anonymous sources  

Criminals

Criminals  

Although governments and companies can be corrupt, criminals make their living at it. They act like leeches on the community, so your readers and listeners have the right to know about them. Fighting crime is, of course, mainly the job of the police and legal system. But sometimes they do not have enough resources to do their jobs properly. Sometimes the law itself limits their powers. Also, the police and judiciary can sometimes be corrupt themselves. So journalists - like every law-abiding citizen - have the duty to expose wrongdoing.  

There are, of course, all sorts of other individuals and organizations who like to hide things which affect the public. A charity may try to hide the fact that it is not doing a good job with money it has been given. A football club might be secretly negotiating to move its ground against the wishes of its fans. A man might be selling colored water as a cure for every illness. All these things need to be exposed so that the public can make up its mind whether to support them or not. 

Companies

Companies  

Some companies break the law and should be exposed. But companies usually like to keep activities secret for other reasons. Perhaps they have made a mistake or lost money. Perhaps they do not want competitors to steal their secrets or they do not want people to oppose a development they are planning. However, even private companies have some responsibility towards the public. Companies are part of each society. They usually make some use of natural resources, take money from customers and shareholders, provide jobs for people and use services provided by all taxpayers. Where their activities affect the rest of the community, the community has a right to know what they are doing.  

Governments

Governments  

These range from local councils to national parliaments and foreign governments. Sometimes politicians and public servants are actually corrupt and should be exposed and removed from office. But often they hide a decision because they know the public may not like it. They might keep a deal they have made with a foreign timber company secret because it will harm the environment or destroy people's homes. Often politicians and public servants spend so long in office that they forget that the public has the right to know what is happening. If the public elects people to office and gives them taxes and other forms of wealth to administer, the public has the right to know what they are doing. The electors should also know so that they can decide how to vote at the next election.  

Questions for Brian Flynn (Investigations Editor for the sun)

Why did you choose to work in investigative journalism? 

 With your experience as a journalist what skills would you say are necessary to write the best story? 

what would you say is the best technique to use in an interview?