Comparison on two journalists

1. Comparison on two journalists Liam Walker

2. introduction • The two journalist I decided to choose are both investigative journalists. They are Billie JD Porter and DonalMacIntyre. Porter is probably most well known for her television investigation on E4 and BBC 3 whilst MacIntyre more for his television investigations on the BBC. Despite both being investigative journalists, the both are very different and investigate completely different subjects, whilst also having some similarities in their work.

3. Billie porter • Billie JD Porter's work generally focuses around teenage issues. In 'The Joy of Teen Sex' her role was to study and investigate growing trends amongst teenagers. These including such things as internet sex, piercings/tattoos, modelling and phone/online dating. She basically speaks to teenagers directly about such issues and gets there opinions on them, regardless of how crude or detailed, nothing is off limits. • Porter also did a television exposure called 'The Secrets of South America'. In this series, Porter explored the culture of young people in South America. By the end of the series, she finds that Argentina has an interesting contradiction between it's heavily Catholic beliefs and the freedom that young people seem to be enjoying and having given to them, often leading to severe consequences. • Porter also keeps a blog that is regularly updated about her recent journeys and her opinions on recent happenings in the world. She has written for NME Magazine on numerous occasions and also writes for fashion magazines. • One of the interesting things about Porter is the way almost every piece of journalism she does is aimed at people in their teenage years and early twenties. This is something that is not often seen in the world of journalism and could be a reason why many young people don't watch many documentaries or news reports, people want to see something that they can relate to. She aims most of her work at teenagers because she is only 21 herself and therefore, these are issues that she can easily indulge herself into.

4. Donal Macintyre • DonalMacIntyre's work tends to centre around infiltrating and exposing serious criminals. One of his most well known pieces is MacIntyre Undercover: Chelsea Headhunters'. In this he infiltrates Chelsea F.C's main group of hooligans, the Chelsea Headhunters. This was responsible for a number of arrests on major members of the gang, including one man who unknowingly admitted on a hidden camera to stabbing and attempting to kill a police officer, a crime in which he was never prosecuted due to a lack of evidence. • MacIntyre has also done an investigative piece on the Lyme Regis Canoeing Disaster in which four school children drowned and a piece on Dominic Noonan, an infamous Manchester gangster and hitman, and uncover how he amassed his riches and what crimes he committed whilst doing so. • As well as this, MacIntyre has also written articles for The Irish Press, The Guardian, The Daily Mail and The Sunday Express. He has a weekly programme on BBC Radio 5, briefly co-hosted ITV1's London Tonight and is a visiting professor of Criminology at Birmingham City University.

5. Ethics • Some people would argue that DonalMacIntyres' style of investigative journalism is somewhat unethical, due to the way he pretends to be someone he is not, and gets the people who he is investigating to believe and trust him that he is on their side; deception. However it can also be argued that with the nature of what he tends to investigate, it is the only way he can possibly get the truth out of these people. • Porters ethics are not often called into question due to her direct and light-hearted approach to her journalism. The only thing that has really been brought into question is how a lot of her previous journalistic work has been of a somewhat sexual nature, and when doing these journalism pieces she often interviews those who are young, some as young as 14/15 and some adults may feel uncomfortable hearing people as young as this talk about sexual things.

6. Comparison of styles • Despite both Porter and MacIntyre being investigative journalists, the both take very different paths in their work. As previously mentioned Porter's work is mainly aimed at young people, whereas MacIntyre's work is mainly aimed at older people, and this demonstrates the difference in interests between the two age demographics. It's also interesting that although both have a very direct approach to getting their stories, due to the topics, they seem so different. MacIntyre's work is very serious, and this is due to the topics that he chooses to investigate, as obviously, they aren't something to be joked about. Porter however tends to have a joke and a laugh with her work, again due to the topics she investigates and also the people she interviews, possibly because giving a fun, jokey atmosphere makes it easier for people to open up. • Also with MacIntyres work, due to the dangerous situations he is in, he has to be very cautious and uses almost entirely undercover and hidden cameras, whereas with Porter, nothings hidden because the topics aren't something that is generally secretive, and she isn't placed in highly dangerous situations. • MacIntyre stated in an interview in 2012 that he believes his style of journalism comes from traumatic experiences he suffered at school, with a headteacher who would physically abuse the pupils

7. Further comparison • Both have similarities in the sense that investigative journalism isn't the only thing in their career. Both have written for publications, giving their opinions on subjects as well as writing about subjects they're interested in or have hobbies within. Although MacIntyre doesn't have a regularly updated blog like Porter, it is still possible to keep up with on-goings in his life due to his weekly BBC Radio 5 show, meaning that both keep their audience updated with their lives.

8. conclusion • Both Porter and MacIntyre are fantastic examples of investigative journalists and the way they go about their work is a brilliant display of what direction to take. They both show how the topic you're investigating has a massive effect on the approach that should be taken. Both are a fantastic inspiration to anyone who wants to be an investigative journalist and give good guidelines on how it should be done, as well as the dedication and risks (particularly those taken by MacIntyre) that can be involved.