Leader: An inside scoop from the Cherwell News machine

Freya Jones Deputy Editor

The Onyeka Nwelue case on this week’s front page is the culmination of intensive work by this term’s News team, and a testament to how far our standards of investigative journalism have come at Cherwell

During my time with the newspaper, I’ve been lucky enough to work on a number of long-term stories, each of which posed its own set of challenges. The Nwelue case was no different, adding to our collective experience of how to handle sources and deal with the reactions of the people we write about. Sometimes, these reactions are extreme, with threats and entreaties sent to the News inbox in abundance. One subject of the Nwelue case told me: “I trust you are aware that printing buzzwords next to someone’s name in an attempt to create a nonexistent “scandal” is to journalism, what paragliding is to launching a Falcon 9 rocket.” Well, that certainly made me raise an eyebrow, but didn’t make me any less confident in our methodology and journalistic rigour. With substantial evidence linked to our articles and diligently filed by section editors, Cherwell has shown its ability to hold those in power to account, from university staff to Oxford Union hacks and terminated Academic Visitors.

Quite why it so often falls to students to investigate claims of academic corruption in our very place of study is a question I shan’t try to answer, but I know many at Cherwell have embraced the responsibility.

Sometimes, however, I wonder how this affects us as people. Is it “normal” to respond calmly when faced with legal threats or furious tirades in response to your writing? I also wonder whether those around us see us as news reporters ahead of anything else, as it’s not always possible to switch out of a working capacity. The tip you hear about JCR drama while chilling with friends could be every bit as valuable as the quote you pick up while running around Frewin Court with a cup of coffee, but how do your friends see you as result of this?

Perhaps this is why the majority of my friends are, in fact, fellow student journalists, I’d like to use the last part of this leader to thank the News team for being so brilliant to work with. I’d also like thank Charlie Hancock and Pieter Garicano in particular, for giving me so many tips on journalistic practice and, accordingly, the confidence to lead investigations at Cherwell . Finally, I’d like to wish the incoming Editors Izzie Alexandrou and Meg Lintern every success for Trinity, when I’m excited to continue my work on Oxford’s biggest and most surprising investigative stories.