How do you get the middle class to care?
Yesterday Private Eye announced the shortlist for the Paul Foot Investigative and Campaigning Journalism Award. I was on it.
I am honoured to be on the shortlist and I am looking forward to attending the awards ceremony in June and the podcasts/interviews and photoshoot that go along with being included. I guess at some point I'll even be on the Wikipedia page!
The Paul Foot Award was set up in memory of revered investigative journalist Paul Foot, who died in 2004.
Paul Foot, an investigative journalist, editor and left-wing campaigner, worked variously for the Daily Record, the Daily Mirror, The Guardian and Private Eye. He was involved in many high-profile campaigns throughout his illustrious career, including the Birmingham Six, the Bridgewater Four and the John Poulson scandal. His accolades include the Journalist of the Year, the Campaigning Journalist of the Year, the George Orwell Prize for Journalism and in 2000 he was honoured as the Campaigning Journalist of the Decade.
Paul Foot died in 2004 at the age of 66.
Chair of judges Padraig Reidy said: “The extremely high quality of entries this year, submitted even as reporters were stretched to capacity by seismic events at home and abroad, made selection an arduous but incredibly fulfilling experience. As judges gathered in person for the first time since 2019, we were unanimous on one thing: the quality of journalism produced by UK outlets – from Fleet Street powerhouses to independent investigations teams and solo freelancers – is as high as it has ever been.”
The judging panel of Matt Foot, Janine Gibson, last year’s winner Robert Smith, Sir Simon Jenkins, Julia Langdon, Helen Lewis, Kim Sengupta and Francis Wheen selected the shortlist
Platforms shortlisted include openDemocracy, The Sunday Times, Daily Mirror, Private Eye and the Observer.
I haven't been on twitter since April 1st and reactivated just to say the following:
I'm so pleased to be shortlisted for the #PaulFootAward/@PrivateEyeNews for Investigative and Campaigning journalism. I have been reluctant to call myself a journalist since I stopped doing breaking news reporting in 2010. Now with this recognition I don't know whether to put campaigner or journalist first in my bio!
I'm glad to get attention for the #JusticeForIPPs campaign. It deserves it. Shirley Debono, Bernadette and IPP In Action have been seeking justice for the inhumane treatment and unjust incarceration of these working class men and women imprisoned for minor crimes for over 12 years.
I'm so proud to follow in the footsteps of Nadine White who was shortlisted for her investigation into SPAC Nation in 2020. bell hooks once said "No black woman writer in this culture can write 'too much.' Indeed, no woman writer can write 'too much' … No woman has ever written enough".
Thank you to Ramzy Alwakeel for commissioning me for this investigation when no one else would (I pitched to the Telegraph, Aljazeera and New York Times first) and giving me support every step of the way. A BIG thank you to openDemocracy for the platform. I'm looking forward to reading the other short and longlisted investigations.
My wish is that all officials involved in incarcerating IPPs and keeping them imprisoned beyond their tariff will be held accountable and that people such as Leroy Douglas, Abdullahi Suleman, Mohammed Khan, Garth O'Hagan and Martin Myers will finally get justice.
And a little thread in honour of the Ministry of Justice…
I added that, I was in the job centre at a meeting with an advisor when I first heard I was longlisted for the #PaulFootAward. Freelance journalism is hard. Reporting pays better than comment writing but investigations will only get harder for freelancers to take on during the cost of living crisis as they can take months.
I'm working on 3 commissioned pieces at the moment. I've been working on them for around 3 months combined. I will earn less than £1000 for them. I don't know what the solution to that is. But I know it would be an abdication of my duty as a journalist if I didn't follow the stories where they take me.
And lastly…
Still no literary agent or publisher for the two books I've written though ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
On Monday before I knew I had been shortlisted I recorded this podcast for the View Magazine.
The View were excited about me being longlisted and wanted to commemorate that and my work. It's nice to be seen.
During the recording session I took the opportunity to ask the interviewer, Oliver my own question: “How do you get middle class people to care?” Specifically white middle class voters of any and all political persuasions.
I asked the same question to my dinner guests on Friday night, at a pre-birthday celebration. I've asked it before. I always ask it when I think the person I am speaking to might have the answer.
I've been asking it ever since I became aware of Indefinite Sentences for Public Protection.
I figure if middle class people had cared, Charlotte Nokes may not be dead and the aforementioned men wouldn't be on the way to their graves or deportation.
Middle class people in their hundreds of thousands cared about the Nationality and Borders Bill when we asked them too.
But we could barely break 5000 signatures for IPP prisoners and not even 5% of that for an in person protest.
If you can tell me how to get middle class people to care drop me an email, or a comment under this post, or a tweet or Facebook or Instagram message. I am available on any platform if you have the answer.
I'm speaking at the Black British Book Festival in Birmingham on the 4th June. Pop down and say hello if you're in the area!
The View magazine is the only platform by and for women in the justice system. Every week we look at the flaws in the current system and solutions that will make it better and fairer, through art, creativity, acknowledging trauma, legal reform, reporting and oversight.
The View examines the intersection of women let down by the agencies, the charities, the NGOs and the support systems meant to protect us, but which fail us. Over 57% of women in prison have been victims of violence, Women who have been subjected to physical and mental abuse who end up trapped in the justice system. . Why is society letting so many women down?
Have a great day
Sam
P.S I know there is going to be some non-black women and /or middle class women who try to take my experiences and use them as their own. Trust me, I will hunt you down if you do and you will catch these hands