Meet the journalists, part 2
Jack, Lydia and Tom the intern
Last time, we met WikiTribune’s first three journalists: Holly, Harry and Linh. Now we’d like to introduce you to the next two full-timers and our current intern Tom.
Here they are in their own words.
Meet Lydia
I’m Lydia Morrish, a 23-year-old Devonite now living in London. With a journalism degree from University for the Creative Arts (UCA) and a history of writing for youth publications, I don’t fit into the traditional mould most of the mainstream media is typified by.
My young age and strong sense of injustice mean I am able and keen to do the tenacious work that needs to be done to bring difficult stories to the forefront. My disarming personality also helps people open up to me, which is a bonus — especially with my full-time hair-twirling habit.
I’ll be writing eye-opening features on under-reported subjects, social issues, equal rights (women’s and men’s!), politics and more. My creative background and experience producing video content means I also aim to produce some interesting visual stories for WikiTribune.
How did you get your job at WikiTribune?
I am a huge fan of Quora and saw Jimmy’s extensive interview about WikiTribune on there. I then sent an email in a haste explaining my passion for wanting to improve the news with him and bring knowledge to the masses and voila!
Why did you want to join WikiTribune? What’s it like actually working there?
I wanted to join WikiTribune because, with my experience of writing for various websites, I realise how much online content is just advertising. I want to write quality journalism that compels and informs people rather than begging for their clicks, which can be so uninspiring it hurts! Having worked for such sites has given me a unique insight into the world of clicks and how to avoid it.
I wholeheartedly support Jimmy’s approach to producing unbiased news which serves readers and not advertisers — journalism should be about questioning the powerful, not serving them. And that’s one of the things I hope we’ll achieve at WikiTribune.
Working here has been extremely rewarding already. In between an undercover trip to Yarl’s Wood and interviewing a Turkish author about Turkish politics, the team and I have been working on the intricate details of how exactly WikiTribune is actually going to work, which is probably the most exciting thing I could be involved in right now. I’m also looking forward to being challenged on my biases and becoming a better journalist.
Jimmy has been great to work with — he’s so positive, motivated and is open to everyone’s ideas. Even better, he’s fully up for philosophical and political debates in our meetings — even if we go very off tangent ;)
What were you doing before?
Before starting at WikiTribune I was writing about politics, social issues and women’s rights for pop culture site Konbini, where I led the politics content in the run up to the 2017 General Election.
I also hosted a video debate between a young Labour voter and a young Tory voter before the election, sparking a rare, respectful dialogue between the two sides.
I was also freelancing (and will still be freelancing occasionally) for unisex print magazine LYRA, where I wrote an essay on the alt-right and personality politics, art mag Banshee, Dazed Digital, Refinery29 and Buffalo Zine.
What’s been your proudest achievement so far in life?
Last year I co-produced and presented a documentary on bigorexia, a type of body dysmorphia that affects mostly bodybuilder men. The aim of this documentary was to show that men who are perceived to be the ‘ultimate’ body shape still have body image issues. Writing about women’s rights whilst also considering men equally is a huge passion of mine.
Read more about Lydia on her website, or follow her on Twitter.
Meet Jack
I’m Jack Barton, I started in early August and will be covering human rights and international law — probably among much else.
I have a Masters in human rights law with a dissertation on liability in international financing; as I followed this with business journalism I like to think I can contribute to WikiTribune with a perspective on the impact of international finance on human rights standards.
How did you get your job at WikiTribune?
In a detail that is probably all you need to know about me, I heard Jimmy talking about it on the Today programme. I saw the idea gaining momentum on Twitter and sent in my CV.
Why did you want to join WikiTribune? What’s it like actually working there?
From a purely selfish perspective, we get to write without appealing to an audience, to cover what we think people are interested in and bounce editorial ideas off people with different perspectives from around the world.
WikiTribune is an idealistic project, but the need for news and journalism without an agenda isn’t really controversial, we just need to get it right.
What were you doing before?
I was a staff writer at a legal magazine, mainly covering “too-big-to-fail” banking and sovereign debt. I also have experience reporting for national outlets in the UK and India, tech reporting in South Africa and I worked on a research project focusing on peace processes.
What’s been your proudest achievement so far in life?
Finishing my Masters.
Meet Tom
Hi, my name is Tomiwa ‘Tom’ Owolade. I joined Wikitribune on the 4th July (I’m trying to make an Independence Day related joke but nothing good is coming to mind, so I’ll just let it pass). I’ll be covering stories related to politics and society and culture. As you can probably guess from my name, I’m of Nigerian descent.
How did you get your internship at WikiTribune?
Through a friend called Ido, who was previously an intern at WikiTribune (thanks Ido).
Why WikiTribune?
I wanted to join because I’m excited by the prospect of a news site that prioritises transparency and objectivity in an age where many news sites are prioritising the opposite of both.
What were you doing before, and what will you be doing next?
I’m currently a student so I don’t have a lot of background work. I worked part-time for Sainsbury’s before starting at WikiTribune.
What’s been your proudest achievement so far in life?
I won something called the Josh Beasley award for creativity in my Secondary School (named after a talented sixth form student who tragically drowned when he was 17) when I was 13 for writing a play.
Read more about Tom on his website, or follow him on Twitter.
We’re still looking for great journalists to join us — find out more here.
