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| In 2015, he was named Weekly Print Journalist of the Year at the East of England Media Awards, organized by HoldTheFrontPage.<ref> https://www.edfenergy.com/media-centre/news-releases/edf-energy-east-england-media-award-winners-announced</ref> | In 2015, he was named Weekly Print Journalist of the Year at the East of England Media Awards, organized by HoldTheFrontPage.<ref> https://www.edfenergy.com/media-centre/news-releases/edf-energy-east-england-media-award-winners-announced</ref> | ||
| In 2016, Thomson won the ‘Highly Commended’ award in the Local Heroes category at the British Journalism Awards, described as ‘the UK’s equivalent to the Pulitzer Prize’. In 2018, Thomson was shortlisted in the category for the second time. | |||
| In 2017, he was named Highly Commended Weekly Reporter of the Year at the Society of Editors Regional Press Awards. In 2018, he won the commendation for the second consecutive year.<ref>https://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/2018/news/judges-praise-mens-exceptional-year-as-regional-press-awards-handed-out</ref> | In 2017, he was named Highly Commended Weekly Reporter of the Year at the Society of Editors Regional Press Awards. In 2018, he won the commendation for the second consecutive year.<ref>https://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/2018/news/judges-praise-mens-exceptional-year-as-regional-press-awards-handed-out</ref> | ||
Revision as of 02:44, 17 November 2019
| Charles Thomson | |
|---|---|
| Born | 18 April 1988 (1988-04-18) (age 36) United Kingdom |
| Occupation | Investigative/Music Journalist |
Charles Thomson (born 18 April 1988) is a british journalist. He has written for media outlets including The Sun, The Mirror, The Guardian, MOJO, Wax Poetics and the Huffington Post. From the years of 2011 to 2019 he worked at Yellow Advertiser. In 2018, he won the national Ray Fitzwalter Award for investigative journalism, for his investigation into the cover up of an historic pedophile ring.
Work
Shoebury sex ring investigation
Thomson spent years investigating the cover-up of a historic pedophile ring in Shoebury, Essex, eventually finding evidence that the leader of the ring had been a police informant.
The investigation began when he discovered a series of compensation payments authorized by Essex County Council for ‘alleged abuse’ linked to its children’s departments between the 1970s and the 1990s.
His campaign for transparency over the payments led to a whistleblower coming forward with concerns about how authorities had handled an investigation into a 1980s pedophile ring in Shoebury.
When other whistleblowers came forward with corroborating stories, Charles arranged for them to meet then Essex Police and Crime Commissioner Nick Alston – who in turn introduced them to the Chief Constable of Essex Police and a senior detective. These meetings resulted in police reopening the case and a man being arrested. Further work by Thomson later caused police to reopen the case a second time.
Thomson discovered a link between the Shoebury ring and sex offender Lennie Smith, a member of the ‘Dirty Dozen’ pedophile gang, which was responsible for the deaths of Jason Swift, Barry Lewis, and Mark Tildseley in the 1980s. Thomson also discovered old files that documented the cover-up of the Shoebury case in real-time. The documents included a confession by a police officer that the leader of the pedophile ring had been a ‘registered informant’, despite decades of sexual offending against children.
In 2019, Thomson appeared as a guest speaker at the Nations and Regions Media Conference in Media City to deliver a talk about the investigation.
Court reporting
Thomson has covered numerous court cases, including high profile murder trials. They included the trial of Jordan Taylor, who stabbed his girlfriend Laura Davies to death in a jealous rage, and the trial of Joram Bakumanya, who stabbed a man to death during a tantrum because a young woman had refused to give him her phone number.
Thomson also covered the case of internet predator Lewis Daynes, who sexually assaulted and then murdered 14-year-old schoolboy Breck Bednar. In 2019, Thomson contributed to a Channel 4 documentary about the Daynes case called Shocking Emergency Calls.
Thomson also reported on Lord Hanningfield’s successful lawsuit against Essex Police, for unlawfully arresting him over allegations that he had wrongly claimed expenses from Essex County Council.
In 2013, Thomson live-tweeted the Jackson family’s wrongful death lawsuit against concert promoter AEG Live, in which they claimed the company should accept some responsibility for Michael Jackson’s death. His coverage was quoted by MailOnline.
Feature writing
Thomson first won praise for his feature-writing shortly after graduating from university, when he was handed a ‘Special Commendation’ in the ‘Feature Writer of the Year’ category at the Guardian Student Media Awards 2009. The award was created in 2009 especially to acknowledge the strength of Thomson's article, ‘James Brown: The Lost Album’, which pieced together the final recording sessions of the so-called ‘Godfather of Soul’. One competition judge later commented, “I thought it was the best piece of student journalism I’d read in a long time, if not ever.”
Shortly after winning the award, Thomson became one of the youngest journalists ever to be given their own blog at the US Huffington Post, where he penned features about subjects including Michael Jackson, Hunter S Thompson and the execution of Troy Davis.
Thomson's Huffington Post article, ‘One of the Most Shameful Episodes in Journalistic History’, was published on the fifth anniversary of the verdict in the 2005 Trial of Michael Jackson. Comparing trial transcripts to media reporting he argued that journalists had deliberately skewed their reporting in favor of the prosecution. It is widely referenced in Michael Jackson biographies.
In addition to investigative features, Thomson specializes in in-depth interviews. His subjects have ranged from Jermaine Jackson to jailed peer Lord Hanningfield. Other interviewees have included Motown star Martha Reeves, gay rapper Cazwell, death row lawyer Clive Stafford-Smith and funk legend Bootsy Collins. Thomson's series of interviews with Lord Hanningfield formed part of a portfolio of work which won him a ‘Highly Commended’ award in the ‘Newcomer of the Year’ category at the EDF Energy Regional Media Awards 2012. (See: Charles Thomson Awards)
Thomson has used a first-person, ‘gonzo journalism’ approach to recount unusual interviews, such as when his attempted interview with former TV presenter Michael Barrymore went awry. Thomson was told Barrymore had agreed to be interviewed but the star refused to cooperate upon Thomson's arrival. He instead invited Thomson to sit in on a radio recording as an observer, but then turned the tables and started grilling him on-air. Thomson recounted the encounter in a first-person article that formed part of a portfolio that won him a ‘Highly Commended’ award in the ‘Newcomer of the Year’ category at the EDF Energy Regional Media Awards 2012. He also used a gonzo approach to describe an ‘unconventional’ interview with artist Ralph Steadman, and to recount ‘crazy’ backstage antics at Britain's V Festival.
James Brown
In 2008, Thomson interviewed Brown's former co-writer Fred Wesley for Wax Poetics magazine. During the interview, Wesley spoke about working on Brown's final album in 2005. The interview inspired Thomson to research the album, spending several months interviewing more than a dozen people who were directly involved in the album's production. The resulting article, "James Brown: The Lost Album" has won a special commendation award in the feature writing category at the Guardian Student Media Awards in November 2009.
In October 2010, Tomi Rae Brown, widow of James Brown, gave Thomson the most in-depth interview she had ever given. In the article published by Sawf News, Brown spoke about her husband's 2004 arrest for domestic assault and how she nursed him through cancer in 2005. She also claimed that Brown's legs had been sawn off after his death to obtain DNA to prove her son's paternity. Thomson has also written about Brown for MOJO magazine and spoken about the singer on Los Angeles radio station KPFA-FM.
In February 2013 Thomson published an in-depth feature, titled ‘The Big Payback’, about Brown's humanitarian work and his family's efforts to carry it on after his death. Brown's friend and producer, the gospel singer Derrick Monk, said the piece brought years to his eyes.
In an article published in the Huffington Post, Thomson was critical of James Brown biopic ‘Get on Up (film)’, which he said contained significant inaccuracies that were detrimental to Brown's legacy. He also interviewed a selection of Brown's former musicians for the Huffington Post, ahead of the HBO documentary ‘Mr Dynamite’, by Alex Gibney.
Michael Jackson
Throughout 2009 he contributed regularly to Britain's Sun newspaper as a Michael Jackson expert. His work for the Sun began in March 2009 when he received insider information on Jackson's imminent arrival in the UK to announce his "This Is It" concerts and helped the Sun to obtain exclusive pictures of Jackson disembarking his private jet. Thomson was contacted by a British tabloid to supply information about the 1993 sexual abuse allegations against Jackson, only to have the tabloid replace his carefully researched information with common myths he advised them to avoid. He noted that when Jackson's FBI file was released, the contents were media wide portrayed as giving an impression of guilt even though the file strongly supported his innocence. He noted how Gene Simmons 2010 allegations about Jackson molesting children received over a hundred times more coverage than the interview with Jackson's guitarist Jennifer Batten rebutting Simmons' claims.
Thomson has interviewed several of Jackson's former collaborators including tour guitarist Jennifer Batten, "This Is It" dancer Kriyss Grant, former manager Dieter Wiesner and publicist Stuart Backerman for Sawf News.
On the fifth anniversary of Michael Jackson's acquittal Thomson's Huffington Post article "One of the Most Shameful Episodes In Journalistic History" was published, uncovering the media's inaccurate reporting during the trial by comparing trial transcripts to the news reports about the proceedings at the time. The piece was later incorporated into an anti-bullying curriculum on words and violence by the Voices Education Project. The article was praised by Jackson's former defense attorney Thomas Mesereau and has been cited in Michael Jackson biographies.
In 2011 Thomson interviewed Michael Jackson's brother Jermaine Jackson. During the interview Jermaine said of Thomson, “He knows more than I do!” Two years later, ahead of the Jackson's first performance in London for 40 years, Jermaine granted Thomson his only solo promotional interview.
Thomson has been critical of the Michael Jackson Estate, writing in Huffington Post articles that releasing posthumous albums is a direct contradiction of Jackson's beliefs and wishes, as stated in several interviews and writings during his lifetime.
Thomson’s work on Jackson’s 2005 trial was cited heavily in Randall Sullivan’s 2012 Jackson biography Untouchable. His work was also cited in other Jackson biographies including Joseph Vogel’s Man in the Music, Mike Smallcombe’s Making Michael, and J. Randy Taraborrelli’s The Magic and the Madness.
In 2016, Thomson created an audio documentary investigating the origin of false claims that Jackson was booed off the stage at the 2006 World Music Awards. He interviewed Jackson’s personal manager and photographer, as well as witnesses from the event, and scrutinized audio and video evidence.
Interviews with Thomson have been included in a series of documentaries about Jackson, including Square One: Michael Jackson, Neverland Firsthand, Leaving Neverland: The Aftermath and Lies of Leaving Neverland.
In 2019, Thomson was invited to speak at UCLA’s ‘Truth Be Told’ event – a seminar about honesty in documentary filmmaking – regarding the TV show Leaving Neverland. Other speakers included Oscar nominee Taylor Hackford, court reporter Linda Deutsch and the executor of Jackson’s estate, John Branca.
Awards
In 2009, Thomson won the Special Commendation Award in the feature writing category at the Guardian Student Media Awards. He was handed the award for his article "James Brown: The Lost Album" by The Guardian writer Hannah Pool and radio presenter Colin Murray at the ceremony in Camden's Proud Galleries, London.
The Special Commendation Award was created in 2009 especially to acknowledge the strength of Thomson's article, and one competition judge later commented: “I thought it was the best piece of student journalism I’d read in a long time, if not ever.” The panel of judges also added: “The feature was an extraordinary, sustained piece on James Brown, a poignant portrait of a man in his last days.”
In 2015, he was named Weekly Print Journalist of the Year at the East of England Media Awards, organized by HoldTheFrontPage.
In 2016, Thomson won the ‘Highly Commended’ award in the Local Heroes category at the British Journalism Awards, described as ‘the UK’s equivalent to the Pulitzer Prize’. In 2018, Thomson was shortlisted in the category for the second time.
In 2017, he was named Highly Commended Weekly Reporter of the Year at the Society of Editors Regional Press Awards. In 2018, he won the commendation for the second consecutive year.
In 2018, Thomson won the inaugural Ray Fitzwalter Award for Investigative Journalism. The award, created in honour of World in Action journalist Ray Fitzwalter, was sponsored by ITV and Channel 4. Thomson won for his Shoebury Sex Ring investigation. It was presented by Channel 4 commissioner Dorothy Byrne and ITV journalist Lucy Meacock. The other shortlisted investigations were both BBC projects, one of which was the Panama Papers investigation. The judges praised Thomson’s ‘resourcefulness and determination’. His work was described as ''brilliant'' and as demonstrating ''that resourcefulness, determination and the nose for a story are far more important than big budgets''. His campaign led the police to reopen their investigation into this case.
In 2019, Thomson won two awards at the Society of Editors Regional Press Awards. He was named Weekly Reporter of the Year for work including his Shoebury Sex Ring investigation. The investigation also won a public vote for the Making A Difference People’s Choice Award. The Society of Editors praised Thomson’s "tenacity, intelligence, and courage."
A month later, he was handed a commendation in the MHP 30 to Watch awards, which identifies Britain’s ‘most talented and influential journalists’ aged 30 and under.
References
- https://www.nme.com/news/tv/michael-jacksons-nephew-crowdfunding-documentary-defend-2438513
- ^ "Campaign to reopen sex abuse case wins investigative journalism prize | News portal | University of Salford, Manchester". www.salford.ac.uk. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
- ^ Sharman, David. "Yellow Adveritser reporter wins Ray Fitzwalter Award - Journalism News from HoldtheFrontPage". HoldtheFrontPage. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
- http://charles-thomson.net/
- https://news-archive.salford.ac.uk/news/articles/2018/campaign-to-reopen-sex-abuse-case-wins-investigative-journalism-prize.html?SQ_DESIGN_NAME=news-portal
- https://news-archive.salford.ac.uk/news/articles/2018/campaign-to-reopen-sex-abuse-case-wins-investigative-journalism-prize.html?SQ_DESIGN_NAME=news-portal
- http://www.salfordnow.co.uk/2018/12/07/salford-university-grant-helps-journalist-with-breakthrough-in-horrific-case/
- http://salfordmediafestival.co.uk/nations-and-regions-media-futures/speakers/
- https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-35321456
- https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-39642478
- http://www.charles-thomson.net/Portfolio-Court-Jordan-Taylor.html / http://www.charles-thomson.net/Portfolio-Court-Joram-Bakumanya.html
- https://www.channel4.com/programmes/shocking-emergency-calls/on-demand/70161-002
- http://www.charles-thomson.net/Portfolio-Court-Breck-Bednar.html
- http://www.charles-thomson.net/Portfolio-Court-Hanningfield.html
- https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/feb/15/jailed-expenses-peer-3500-damages
- 'We found the truth!' Katherine Jackson feels vindicated... despite losing AEG Live lawsuit over death of son Michael, 03 October 2013
- In pictures: Guardian Student Media Awards 2009 winners, 26 November 2009
- In pictures: Young journalist praised for ‘extraordinary piece of work’, 19 December 2009
- Charles Thomson: Huffington Post
- Strange Fruit Still Falling in the Southern States, 27 September 2011
- Animals, Whores & Dialogue: The Resurrection of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, 26 July 2010
- Thomson, Charles; writer, ContributorAward-winning (13 June 2010). "One of the Most Shameful Episodes In Journalistic History". HuffPost. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
{{cite web}}:|first2=has generic name (help) - One of the Most Shameful Episodes In Journalistic History, 13 June 2010
- ^ Exclusive: Jermaine Jackson Interview by Charles Thomson
- Barrymore: ‘Journalists are not my kind of people...’ ...but we sent one anyway! 08 March 2012
- YA reporter Charles Thomson got the chance to speak to gonzo artist Ralph Steadman. 11 October 2012
- ^ "Young journalist praised for ‘extraordinary piece of work’", Basildon Recorder, 18 December 2009.
- ""James Brown's Widow Tomi Rae Bares Her Soul in Exclusive Interview". Sawf News, 25 December 2010". Archived from the original on 28 December 2010. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
- James Brown: The Big Payback by Charles Thomson, 18 March 2015
- James Brown Biopic: Should Life Stories Really Include Fabricated Incidents? 06 August 2014
- James Brown: The Highs and Lows, 27 October 2014
- ^ Thomson, Charles (2 March 2010). "Michael Jackson: It's Time for Outlets to Take Responsibility in Covering the Rock Star". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
- "Charles Thomson, "Michael Jackson's 'This is It' principal dancer recalls Michael's last days", Sawf News, 13 March 2010". Archived from the original on 7 September 2011. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
- ""Michael Jackson: His lead guitarist Jennifer Batten gives a rare insight", Sawf News, 5 March 2010". Archived from the original on 7 September 2011. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
- {{Cite web |url=http://www.sawfnews.com/Entertainment/65829.aspx# |title=Charles Thomson, "Michael Jackson's '[[One More Chance (Michael Jackson song)|One More Chance |access-date=11 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110624085310/http://www.sawfnews.com/entertainment/65829.aspx# |archive-date=24 June 2011 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}
- "Charles Thomson, "One of the Most Shameful Episodes in Journalistic History", Voices (Education Project)". Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
- Thomson, Charles (14 June 2010). "One of the Most Shameful Episodes in Journalistic History". Huffington Post.
- Charles Thomson - Xscape: Would Michael Jackson Approve? 12 May 2014
- Charles Thomson - Michael Jackson's Xscape Origins: The First Review, 18 March 2015
- https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=RwKmo3VTjTEC&pg=PT517&lpg=PT517&dq=randall+sullivan+mesereau+thomson&source=bl&ots=VyWb2danbu&sig=ACfU3U3TlS-MKLbj7swnSf2fZIIhwq3kmw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiakqHP9u_lAhVPTsAKHfoIBpoQ6AEwBXoECAgQAQ#v=onepage&q=randall%20sullivan%20mesereau%20thomson&f=false
- http://charles-thomson.net/Bio-Jackson.html
- https://player.fm/series/the-mjcast-a-michael-jackson-podcast-1247055/episode-044-world-music-awards-2006-10th-anniversary-special
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11033952/
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10112374/?ref_=nm_flmg_slf_2
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11044428/?ref_=nm_flmg_arf_1
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXOfz1YkWeA
- https://www.gettyimages.co.nz/detail/news-photo/charles-thomson-speaks-during-truth-be-told-documentary-news-photo/1153776335?adppopup=true
- https://www.gettyimages.co.nz/photos/truth-be-told-ucla?events=775351596&family=editorial&phrase=truth%20be%20told%20ucla&sort=best
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6KWrdm1uIY
- "Student media awards, Newspapers, Television industry (Media), Students, Media, Education". The Guardian. London. 26 November 2009.
- https://www.basildonstandard.co.uk/news/echo/4803746.young-journalist-praised-for-extraordinary-piece-of-work/
- https://www.edfenergy.com/media-centre/news-releases/edf-energy-east-england-media-award-winners-announced
- https://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/2018/news/judges-praise-mens-exceptional-year-as-regional-press-awards-handed-out
- https://www.inpublishing.co.uk/articles/lyra-mckee-honoured-at-regional-press-awards-14507
- https://www.societyofeditors.org/events/regional-press-awards/regional-press-awards-winners
- https://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/2019/news/weeklys-chief-reporter-recognised-in-awards-for-journalists-under-30/