Antonia Velikova - Journalism Portfolio by Antonia Velikova

Work experience http://a-velikova.com

CONTENTS A Russell Group University graduate

2. Curriculum Vitae: Education and work experience

3. 5.

News journalism For The Courier and The Independent Data journalism Analysis for The Courier

Features 7. Entertainment

Over my three years at Newcastle University, I have consistently proved myself as a trustworthy leader and a team worker with strong analytical skills. I have achieved a strong First-class degree in BA Media, Communication and Cultural Studies, while being highly praised by department staff. My degree involved creating a 10,000 independent research project, which was also graded with a First class mark and highly praised by my dissertation supervisor. I have been involved with my department Student-Staff committee from 2013, intitially as a secretary, and then in my last two years as Chair. I was also part of the founding committee of the first ever film society in University - FILM- SOC - which had, by the end of my time as Secretary, over 200 active members.

Experience in national and local award-winning publications Over the course of six months, I have been working freelance for Bulgarian start-up media company Espaces Ltd. as the functioning News and Business Editor. My responsibilities mainly include curating content for the News and Business sections of the website and organising liveblogging and rolling coverage of important events such as 2016 Super Tuesday and the Brussels Terror Attacks. I have been highly praised by

the Editor in Chief for my committment and creativity, as well as for my social media prowess in making liveblog content more interactive. I have also been employed by national award-winning publication The i Paper as their student brand ambassador on the Newcastle University campus. My responsibilities included raising awareness of the publication among peers, organising promotional

I have been highly praised for my commitment and creativity.

activities, working closely with local suppliers, and contributing to The Independent. Because of my outstanding performance in this role, I was invited to spend a week in the offices of The Independent, where I worked closely with staff from the Foreign Desk, where I undertook an ambitious news feature on refugees in Cypriot British Bases. I’ve also worked as News Editor for Newcastle University’s award-winning publication The Courier and Managing Editor for global news start-up The Global Panorama.

Presenting a business project at the Rise-Up FLUX conference, 2013

and culture

Ideas For data-led investigations © Antonia Velikova | Journalism Portfolio

News

Contributed to various online and print outlets

The refugees who landed on Britain’s Cypriot base Dhekelia 17 years ago are still in limbo

More than 100 migrants came ashore on Akrotiri Image credit: Reuters told The Independent that with Nigel Morris The Independent, 2015 the families she represented would be issuing a fresh In limbo, unwilling to case against the UK Home enter Cyprus and unable Office, disputing its rejecto travel to Britain, there tion of their resettlement is growing outrage at the claim last year. “They’ve been in limcollective failure to provide permanent homes bo since 1998,” Ms Charalambifor five families dou said. from Iraq, Su“These peodan and Ethiople need to pia who landed be relocated at RAF Akrotiri to the UK almost 20 years because the ago. UK has a reIn the week sponsibility that 114 miover them.” grants washed up in fishing boats at the She added: “The substance RAF base on Cyprus, Ni- of the case is that everycoletta Charalambidou, body is trapped into a situthe legal representative of ation that’s unfavourable.” She said that Britain has those living on another military base in Dhekelia, a responsibility to evencalled “Richmond Village”, tually resettle all asylum

seekers in Richmond Village. According to the families, many were put under pressure by base authorities to resettle in Cyprus. “It’s completely understandable that they don’t want to go to Cyprus, because they would have no rights there,” Ms Charalambidou said. “They have no future anywhere in Cyprus.” Kahtan Hanoon arrived at Richmond Village in 2001. The 38-year-old Iraqi moved to Cyprus in 2010 on what he described as a promise of a new life for him and his family by Cypriot authorities. “I was promised a better life after leaving Dhekelia,” he told The Independent. Mr Hanoon’s wife and son were able to travel to Ukraine

in 2010 and he has not seen them since. “I don’t get to see them. We only talk on the phone and Skype, sometimes. I would like to live with them – at this point it doesn’t matter where. I just want to be with my family.” “Both refugees and asylum seekers have been in limbo for so long, they cannot enjoy their basic human life,” Ms Charalambidou said. “Children are isolated, they’re not integrated, and they don’t know which society they’re going to be integrated into.” For the 114 arriving in Cyprus this week, there appears little hope. David Cameron’s spokesman

yesterday said RAF Akrotiri would not “become some kind of new route of migration into Britain” and insisted all asylum applications would be handled by Cyprus under the 12-year-old agreement. Homer Mavrommatis, head of the Cypriot Foreign Ministry’s crisis management centre, said: “The intention of Cyprus, even though it is not an obligation, is to house the asylum seekers.” Ms Charalambidou said: “Our argument is that these refugees, they are on UK territory, irrespective of any agreement made between Cyprus and the UK so they continue to be UK responsibility.”

any voluntary duties like covering timetabled classes for absent colleagues. The planned strike action is in light of the ongoing regional ballot among UCU members about strike or action short of strike to counter University-led initiative for research expectations, Raising the Bar. The dispute has arisen following a pay offer of 1.1% from the employer body, the Universities and Colleges Employers’ Association (UCEA), which the union has described as ‘an insult’. The nation-

al UCU said universities could afford to pay more and that the latest offer does little to address the real terms pay cut of 14.5% in 2009. “Members in higher education have sent a clear message to employers that, after six years of real-terms pay cuts amounting to 14.5%, they will not tolerate a continued squeeze on their income,” said UCU general

secretary Sally Hunt. “Industrial action which impacts on students is never taken lightly, but staff feel that they have been left with no alternative. The squeeze on staff salaries arrives when pay and benefits for university leaders have increased, on average, by 3%, with the average pay and pensions package for vice-chancellors standing at over £270,000.

If the ballot for industrial action against Raising the Bar, which ends on Tuesday, ends with a decision for a strike or action short of strike, marking exams in the end of May and beginning of June may be delayed. Raising the Bar has been criticized by both staff and students for using what has been described as an ‘outdated’ form of performance management tactics. The University is holding a meeting with Vice Chancellor Chris Brink to discuss Raising the Bar.

“These people need to be relocated to the UK.”

“They are UK responsibility.”

Lecturers to go on strike during June exams The Courier, 2016 Universities and College Union members in Newcastle University will undertake strike action on Wednesday 25 May and Thursday 26 May as part of an ongoing dispute over pay cuts. This is a part of a national decision after a ballot undertaken by the national UCU. Staff will also begin working to contract from 25 May, which means they will refuse to work overtime, set additional work or undertake

“Staff feel that they have been left with no alternative.”

4.news

Raising the Bar performance management initiative causes concern among Uni staff The Courier, 2016 An anonymous contact has alerted The Courier to raising concerns regarding staff redundancies as a result of the University-wide initiative ‘Raising the Bar’. The Research and Innovation Performance policy, put together during the summer, proposes a more focused approach in order to achieve better academic results in University research. “The UCU, representing the academic staff of Newcastle University, are very much in favour of making Newcastle University a better place and doing even more of the excellent research that we already do,” Bruce Baker, a UCU officer, told The Courier. “We differ strongly, however, with the university managers about how best to

Image: travellingamy

accomplish this. The UCU believes that an academic institution should base its practices on collegiality and the fundamental principle of shared governance, that the academic business of a university is properly directed by the academics themselves, with the managers to help put the will of the University–that is to say, the academics and the students–into effect.” According to Baker, the crafting of the Research and Innovation Performance Expectations policy did not involve any University academics. Instead, it was authored by University managers and only presented to academics at the beginning of this year. “We believe that the union was not consulted on something which constitutes a fundamental change to the nature of the

employment relationship between our staff and the University,” Baker said. “Senate in effect was told to sign a blank cheque. It raises serious concerns about the governance of the institution. “Our members are justifiably concerned for their jobs and their livelihoods. The bottom line is that they propose to use capability procedures to deal with those who are deemed to not meet these requirements.” The UCU will be lobbying on 14 December at 1:15 outside King’s Gate. According to information provided by the UCU, 90 professors have signed a statement against the research expectations document.

Bulgaria votes in ‘last chance election’ Global Panorama, 2014 On 5 October Bulgarians voted in what has been dubbed the country’s ‘last chance’ election. The results were inconclusive and unsatisfactory, according to post-election surveys. With a turnout of 52%, the lowest since the country embraced democracy in 1989, far-right party GERB emerged victorious with 33% of the vote. This is the fifth consecutive electoral win for GERB, their previous triumphs including the past two general elections and the European election in May. Spirits ran high on voting day, with every media outlet wondering whether GERB would go into parliament at all – at the last election, they stepped down, allowing their main opposition,the Bulgarian Socialist Party, to take control. Party leader and exPrime Minister Boyko

Borisov has confirmed that there will be a GERB parliament, however it is yet unclear whether it will be a minority government or a hung parliament. The Bulgarian Socialist Party came second. 0.5% behind them are the Turkish minority party, DPS. The last Bulgarian coalition government between BSP, DPS, and the nationalist party Attack (also granted government seats at this election, with 4.4% of the vote), was brought down as a result of mass citizen protests. Other parties who made it into parliament scored much lower vote than the three “main” parties that came on top. The Reformist Block, a coalition between several left-wing parties, scored twice as much as it did in the European election, claiming 8% of the vote. Nationalists from the Patriotic Front scored about 7%, followed by populist “Bulgarian without Censorship”, owned by ex-journalist Nikolay

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisoff, GERB Image credit: EPP

“We know [the politicians] will lie to us again.”

Barekov, with 6%. Attack come last with just above 4% – the borderline percentage for a party to get into parliament. Voters are pensive and do not trust that change for the better will follow. “We know [the politicians] will lie to us again,”

a Sofia voter, Kalin Vasilev, said. “If you took things too seriously in Bulgaria, you’d have to shoot yourself.” Bulgaria’s former government, led by Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski, had to post its timely resignation as a

result of year-long citizen protests. Many political analysts have pointed out that GERB need to be wary of civil interests when forming their government. Otherwise, it is likely that Bulgarian people will take to the streets again.

Data journalism

Writing and analysis for The Courier

“Top bants every day”: Students’ Union survey lifts lid on lad culture on campus Over half of students have provided accounts of having experienced the phenomenon of “lad culture” on campus, a recent poll conducted by the Welfare and Equality team of NUSU reveals. 53% of all polled students have anonymously shared their experiences and opinion of what they understand to be lad culture on the Newcastle University campus. By contrast, 47% stated that they had no experience of lad culture on campus or did not know what lad culture actually was. Some of the harrowing accounts involved mentions of sexism, homophobia, misogyny, and harassment as elements of lad culture. “I was sexually assaulted as a result of how I dressed,” one of the respondents shares. A lot of the answers to the poll regard lad culture as demeaning to men as well as women: “‘Lads [are] sexually assaulting female students and calling it banter,” another one of the respondents said. “As one of the few males in my group of friends I felt it was my responsibility to watch over my female friends at all times to stop them falling victim to this behaviour.” Welfare and Equality officer with NUSU Olivia Jeffrey confirms that lad culture does not only affect people of either gender. In her speech on the Tackling Lad Culture summit at Northumbria University last Wednesday, Olivia said: “I agree that using the term lad culture can often be very confusing as to what it actually means, and it is actually the harmful elements that need to be tackled. Also the term ‘lad’ is usually associated with males, when as the

reporter said, both females and males can be involved in lad culture. This is not to say that it is only sports teams that are involved in this kind of behaviour. But we are hoping from this planning meeting together, we can create a plan on how to tackle lad culture with sports team members and then it can be used as part of a wider strategy for the New Year starting in September.” Other res p o n d e nt s claimed that there were much more important issues that need tackling among the student population, such as urging students on campus to vote in the upcoming general election. “I don’t agree with this ‘lad’ culture but people acting like eejits [sic] during university is something that is supposed to happen,” they claimed. Lucy Morgan, President of Newcastle Feminist Society, said that lad culture is much more than a feminist issue: it affects all marginalised groups of students. “Lad culture becomes harmful when the ‘banter’ relies on misogyny and homophobia,” Lucy said. “Normalising these prejudices makes it okay for people to behave in a prejudiced way i.e sexually harassing/ verbally abusing someone. This has the effect of alienating large bodies of the student population who identify as female or homosexual/queer/trans.” At the Tackling Lad Cul-

“Lad culture becomes harmful when the ‘banter’ relies on misogyny and homophobia”

ture summit on Wednesday, when the results from the poll were introduced and discussed in the following plenary session, many speakers from all over the country gathered at Northumbria University to discuss effective ways to raise awareness of lad culture and laddism on campus. The summit saw a host of academics from local institutions discussing their perspectives and sharing research findings including National Union of Students equality and women’s officers. In her speech, Olivia outlined the current measures existing on Newcastle University campus to battle laddism and lad culture. “It has been great that we have had the support from the university, as we have set up a meeting group to discuss how we can tackle the problems together,” Olivia said. “Our Campus Cop delivers talks to freshers at the start of their first term, particularly on vulnerability. This year we are hoping to bring in topics such as this into the lecture theatre and will define sexual harassment so people have an understanding of what it is and the seriousness of it.” Speaking to The Courier, Olivia c on f i r m e d that the summit was a resounding success, pointing out Dave Llewellyn’s talk as the highlight of the event. Llewellyn set up the Good Lad initiative in 2013 to raise awareness on how men can enforce a healthy image of masculinity. Olivia Jeffery added that she hopes that more awareness of this issue will be raised in the future.

“We need to educate people about what lad culture is, encourage people to call out their friends if they are participating in it.”

“Rowdy blokes having a bloody good laugh” Responses to the survey

“There is pressure to ‘pull’ and have profuse sexual relationships and if this is not the case you are seen as abnormal, homosexual or simply as not having fun.” “People having a good time at university, and some among the student population finding it offensive. Its really not as bad as its made out to be, its just something that been blown out of proportion to put a scapegoat onto certain things that happen.” “There is pressure to ‘pull’ and have profuse sexual relationships and if this is not the case you are seen as abnormal, homosexual or simply as not having fun.” “Groups of lads thinking they can kiss any girl they want because they have had a drink. The worst part is the names they call you after you tell them no. It can range from ‘frigid’ to a lot more offensive.”

“There is pressure to ‘pull’ and have profuse sexual relationships and if this is not the case you are seen as abnormal, homosexual or simply as not having fun.” “As a lad, I have experienced having a laugh with my mates. Does the University look upon me with disdain?” “I was inducted into my football team with a night of horrendous drinking games and humiliation. Though it was designed to be ‘fun’ I did not find it as such as I am shy and did not expect to have to complete such tasks as drinking neat vodka with 3 Weetabix in a confined space.” “What the fuck is lad culture? Sexist term made up by bitter feminists wanting “equality” when actually they want to be put in better standing than males.”

6.data

40% believe study drugs do not give unfair advantage, survey reveals

“It did wonders for my dissertation – I literally sat there and cracked it out.” “I found the restless period really unsettling and difficult.” “They are merely allowing students to focus for an extended period of time. It doesn’t amount to cheating.” “It’s disrespectful to people who are actually prescribed the drugs due to need and it’s cheating.”

Over 40% of students in Newcastle University believe that taking study aid drugs during term time does not amount to an unfair advantage, a survey conducted by The Courier has found. From the 80 students who filled in the survey, 70% have not used study drugs before. Out of the 30% who have, 79% have said that they only use them on the odd occasion that they need them. 12% used them the majority of time during term time, and only 8% have reported using them all the time during their studies. These results come as 93% of students said they had never used a drug testing kit after they were introduced in the Union, and just under a third were aware that they could buy their drug testing kits from the Student Advice Centre. “I found it hard getting up early and spending all day revising in the library so I decided to buy some modafinil off the Internet in my final year after hearing good things about them from some mates,” one of the anonymous r e s p o n d e nt s in the survey said. “Studying Biomed, I knew that they were a novel therapeutic for many diseases including bipolar disorder and myalgic encephalopathy so I thought it was pretty safe. “When I first took, I found that I was really jumpy and restless for the whole morning, finding it hard to do any work. However in the afternoon I settled down and worked really solidly. It did wonders for my dissertation – I literally sat there and cracked it out. “I only did it a few times though as I found the restless period really unsettling and difficult. I wouldn’t say the effect was hugely noticeable but it does help with studying.” Out of the 29% of students, who said they had used study drugs before, 62% said they had expe-

rienced minor side effects, such as headaches, while 16% said that they had experienced significant side effects. “They made my anxiety really bad afterwards,” one respondent has said in the survey. 25% of all surveyed students believed that the study aids provided those who take them with an “unfair advantage” over their peers. “It’s disrespectful to people who are actually prescribed the drugs due to need and it’s cheating,” one respondent said. The results from the study drug survey come after members of Students for Sensible Drug Policies in Newcastle University have introduced accessible drug testing kits, setting a national precedent. Luke Allison, Welfare and Equality officer at Newcastle University said: “This re-iterates that some students do use drugs and not only recreationally. I think it’s important, looking forward to future exam seasons, to provide further information around study drugs and the risks students take by using them.” Studies have shown that so-called study aides do not increase intelligence, but performance and concentration. “Study drugs have been shown to be effective to increase concentration but not ability – thus they are merely allowing students to focus for an extended period of time. It doesn’t amount to cheating,” another anonymous respondent said in The Courier’s survey. Study drugs are normally prescribed for genuine medical conditions – for example Modafinil, one of the most widely used study aids, is a prescription-only medication for narcolepsy that the NHS’s website describes as “a central nervous system stimulant” that prevents “excessive sleepiness during daytime hours”.

“62% of students experienced minor side effects.”

Features

Entertainment, culture and comment

Normally abnormal with Dave Chawner The Courier, 2016

ast week, NUSU’s mental health charity Mind the Gap organised a series of events for Eating Disorders Awareness Week. As part of the events, critically acclaimed comedian Dave Chawner presented his award-winning show Normally Abnormal. Dave has been featured on the BBC, The Independent, The Guardian and has also conducted a TEDx talk on his battle with anorexia. After the show, I sat down with Dave to chat more about comedy, his experiences and how he thinks our attide to mental health has changed.

to University. And people are so stressed nowadays, it’s so much pressure on the kids. Trends are showing it’s a huge problem but I think it’s more important to talk about it. One of the most stigmatizing things for me was that nobody ever talked about it in a normal way. So you think it’s majorly a communication problem that we have, when we discuss issues like that? It’s hugely a communication problem. There are so many support networks in university, which is wonderful. I went to seek help when I was in my second

That seems to be a trend that we’re observing recently anyway. Do you think that we’ve progressed a lot then, in our ways in which we talk about mental health, or do you think there’s still a lot of work to be done? A bit of both. We’ve progressed in our conversation about mental health so much. It’s so easy for people to moan and whine about these things and we have moved on from that a lot. But there’s still a lot of work to do. How has your tour been going so far? It’s been mental. People think that going on tour is glamorous, it’s really not. I just spend a lot of my time on trains. I know some of the Virgin staff by first name. And the thing is, you don’t really get to chat to people either. One of the people on the train, while I was getting down, wanted to sell me a sandwich and I just tried to engage him in conversation. By the end he seemed close to going “Do you want a fucking sandwich? Stop talking!” [laughs] You just start craving human contact.

“Comedy is a wonderful way of starting conversations.”

Excellent show, Dave, thank you! To start off, why do you think it’s important to hold events like Eating Disorders Awareness Week? Thank you! I think it’s important to focus on it because that’s when it hit home for me, when I went

year of University – and that was huge! I don’t know why I was so scared. I kind of want to get people talking about mental health rather than mental illness. That’s a huge line to cross.

Image: CR2 Studios

What about the shows so far – how have students received you? The reception so far has been really lovely. There’s only been one that has been [pause] interesting. Not necessarily a bad thing? Not bad necessarily. They’d just forgotten to promote the event. Huge venue, 350-seater, and they’ve got nine people in. Nine! Now, in that situation you’ve got two things you can do – you either pull the gig, but because it was a free gig I didn’t really want to do that, or play with it, do it more conversationally. I had a sound tech, a lighting tech, and a bar manager. And they did a

lighting show, there was dry ice and I just looked like the most arrogant prick in the world. Wow! You must be happy that tonight went so well then. Oh yes! Newcastle is wonderful, I always love coming up. Kate, who organised this, is absolutely lovely, and so is the audience, always. It’s interesting how you do the show every night and new things always pop up. So by the start of the month it can be a completely different show. I think that’s really interesting. Even now I’m learning new stuff about mental health, which is fascinating.

ty to articulate yourself. With comedy shows, once you’ve got the bit of an anaesthetic, having a bit of a laugh, people say the truest things. The thing about mental health and about therapy, which I’m still going through, is the ability to learn together. Learning together is key. It is indeed! So do you see yourself as some sort of a role model? And who was your own role model, growing up? That is a very good question! If I am a role model, I’m the worst one in the world. I’m not Gandhi, I’m not splitting the atom. The best way that I think of myself and the best barometer and compass I have for me is ‘Who did I need when I was seventeen?’ I’m in a very lucky position that I have that experience to draw on. I had a number of different role models. I don’t like that idea very much though, because I don’t want to take on the role of someone else. I have people who have inspired me. Robin Williams though, joking aside, comedically at least. I’ve watched Mrs. Doubtfire so much that I find myself doing the silly voices.

“I kind of want to get people talking about mental health rather than mental And why illness.” do you think it’s important that we change the way we talk about eating disorders? I went into comedy because I’ve always thought that it’s a wonderful way to start conversations. I love the lyricism of it, and I love the articulate angle to it. Sometimes it’s a problem for people and even doctors dealing with mental health, because you’re trying to articulate something so ineffable, so difficult to grasp. One of the finest examples of that – depression. The first thing to go is the abili-

8.features

I fight like a girl? Tell that to my sword

Image: Hotspur School of Defence Verbal Remedy, 2016

t’s late on a Wednesday night, and I’ve just finished training. I’m changing my shoes, putting my equipment back in my bag, winding down from an intense session, engaging in small talk. Around me, people chatter excitedly. About their new weapons, about historical manuscripts, or the new Star Wars film–no topic is really off limits. It’s a good atmosphere, a healthy one, a happy one. It’s just another night of fighting with steel longswords. No big deal. Historical European Martial Arts, or HEMA, is, by far, the most physically challenging thing I have ever (wilfully) done. It’s quite a big step to attend an one-hour free workshop with your best friend and then, a week later, know you’ll have a 43-inch sword coming at your face on a weekly basis. Fortunately, when I started off, I was in good hands. My club has an immaculate safety record and the instructor has been involved with HEMA since 1994 – so basically my entire lifetime. Weekly 90-min-

ute sessions under his masterful guidance were all it took to nurture confidence, love of my own body, and awareness of my own strength. A disclaimer, of sorts. I don’t claim to be anything even remotely resembling an expert in HEMA. I’m still very much in the beginning of my learning and I apologise to any and all avid fencers, who cringe at any and all inaccuracies in the following. This is all about my personal experiences, in the very particular context of my own physical and mental health, so those experiences would not necessarily be the same as anyone else’s in the HEMA community. After training I often come home, bruised, battered, and oddly euphoric, and all I can do is drink some water and collapse into bed. So when I tell stories of how someone wrestled me to the ground the other night, people often ask me why I do it. The next time around, I always move a little bit faster, the sword’s not as heavy in my hand, my grip is tighter,

my foot moves to the right place and I feel balanced, whole, delighted with what I’ve achieved and what I’ll continue achieving. This is why I do it. Even for my measly six months in the HEMA world–which, really, is only baby steps into a universe of expertise that exists out there, I can feel the very ostensible effect it’s had on my perceptions

with how unpredictable and changeable my life is at the moment, I will be able to keep it up in the first place. At times, ever less often, I fear whether I’m actually any good at all. I remember reading somewhere that we, as women, are always in fierce battle with the lies we tell ourselves. We have weak muscles, weak ankles and wrists, fragile bones, we’re not quick enough, we’re not thin enough. We’re not good enough. It’s lies I’ve told myself quite often and, even now, I might sometimes still believe them. At the end of the day though, I go to training and any memory of those lies disappears. When you get into that headspace of holy-shitthere’s-a-sword-comingat-my-head-what-do-Ido, unsurprisingly, you can’t think of much else. So that fear is immensely overpowering at times. But then, every Wednesday, with my bag of kit over my shoulder, I go to

“As women, we are always in a fierce battle with the lies we tell ourselves, that we’re not good enough or strong enough.” of my own body and my own physical condition. I’ve started cherishing the bruises because it only takes a look at them to remember how happy, satisfied, and content I am with myself when I’m training. Sometimes it is emotionally challenging, too. I wonder if I’ll ever be good enough to face up to fencers with different fighting styles, even perhaps take part in competitions. I wonder if I’ll ever be able to afford all the kit I will need. I wonder even if,

training and I fight my fear. I learn how to face it and I learn that my body and my passion are good enough and it is the best lesson you can get again and again and again, until it no longer needs to be taught. The supportive atmosphere helps. When you put your fencing mask on, you become anonymous. The outside world disappears. It doesn’t matter who you are, as long as you’re doing what you should, staying safe, and enjoying yourself. But then the mask comes off and you’re a community, you go to the pub and joke about how your little martial arts gang might just have the upper hand if a pub brawl starts. Trust me, swinging a sword at someone is truly a great way to make friends. Question still remains though: am I still afraid, after all this? Yes, part of me is. To quote one of the great German fencing masters, Erschrickstu gern/ kain vechten nÿmmer gelerñ. If you’re easily frightened, no fencing shall you ever learn. So I’m not letting my fear stop me from doing something I love deeply.

“If you’re easily frightened, no fencing shall you ever learn.” – Johannes Lichtenauer

Ideas

For potential data-led investigations

Idea 1: Tax-evading doctors, HMRC I started working on this in 2015 (when the press release was first released on the website) for The Independent, however I didn’t manage to get anywhere with it because HMRC didn’t get back to me in the deadline I had back then. However, I’ve been following the story closely and I will definitely work on it further. In October 2015, I came across a HMRC press release about a Dr. Raad Mohiaddin (pictured), an award-winning professor of heart disease. He had been sentenced of tax evasion, with the HMRC stating that he’d “lied for eight years about his earnings from private practice to avoid paying almost £410,000.” That in itself wasn’t that great a story, however my eye was caught by a line at the end: “In 2010, HMRC launched a campaign to encourage doctors and

other medical professionals to declare their unpaid tax under the best terms available. [...] To date the campaign has raised a total revenue of over £75 million.” My idea is to submit a FOI to the HMRC, asking for a breakdown of the campaign’s results in the time period that it was active (2010-2015, presumably), or to date, if they have them. Once we have this data, it can be reworked and analysed for a story in both a national and local publication, depending on the findings. There is the risk of there being nothing of specific interest in the data itself, however the singular case of Dr. Mohiaddin proves that there’s always a lot of money involved in these cases. This makes it of clear public interest, seeing as the underfunding of the NHS is always a hot topic for discussion.

Idea 2: MPs’ financial interests This idea is a bit more abstract and requires a lot more investigation, however I do think that, again, it can be turned into both a local and a national piece of news. The database of the register of MPs’ financial interests is in my browser bookmarks and I make a point to visit it frequently to see if I can spot anything newsworthy at all. Lately, my eye has been caught by the entry for one Mr. Jacob Rees-Mogg, a Conservative MP. According to the records, Mr. Rees-Mogg receives an average of over £10,000 every month for working in Somerset Capital Management LLP. This is, as listed, for one working week of 35 hours every month. Considering the annual salary for MPs is roughly £6,200 monthly, this means that Mr. Rees-Mogg’s monthly income is over the yearly income for someone working minimum wage. Another notable figure

are the £1,500 received by Mr. Rees-Mogg for presenting Have I Got News For You. Similar figures can be seen for Ms. Diane Abbott and other politicians who have appeared on the show. This story can go two ways. The first one is to do a detailed data scrape of the website, noting down MPs’ income from other companies, where they are listed as employed. Not only the income can be observed, but also the possible discrepancy of MPs in the London area and MPs outside of it. A party-to-party comparison is also possible. The other way I could take this is scrape the database solely for the MPs’ television incomes - hosting, cameos, etc. - and receiving a comprehensive figure of how much money goes into securing a Member of Parliament on broadcast television. This will be particularly useful to tie in with the story of the BBC’s recent white paper.