J-Lab

Jim Waterson is former media editor at The Guardian and now the publisher of London Centric, which covers politics, business and life in the UK capital via a fast-growing Substack newsletter as well as TikTok videos. After years reporting on national media, Jim made a striking decision: to step away from one of the most influential journalism jobs in Britain and try to build something new — a reader-funded local news operation focused on London. London Centric combines deep investigations with explainers and features about the city — and it’s built around a simple idea: that a core of paying subscribers can support ambitious reporting that might otherwise struggle to survive in the digital advertising economy. In our conversation, we ask Jim what local journalism looks like in 2026 — what works, what doesn’t, and what opportunities might exist for the next generation of local news reporters. To read Jim’s reporting or subscribe to the newsletter, visit londoncentric.media while his TikToks are @JimWaterson J-Lab is the podcast from Newcastle University’s Civic Journalism Lab — where we explore how journalism is evolving and what it means for the next generation of reporters.

This episode centres on The Salt Path, a publishing phenomenon that has sold millions of copies worldwide, inspired a major film starring Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs, and has become, for many readers, a story of endurance, love and hope in the face of loss. But over the past year, that story has also become the subject of a major investigation by The Observer. Our guest is Chloe Hadjimatheou, narrative editor at The Observer, whose reporting has examined serious questions about the truth-claims of The Salt Path, including the authors’ identities, the circumstances around the loss of their home, the presentation of illness, and what responsibilities publishers, journalists and readers have when a memoir presents itself as fact. In our conversation, Chloe takes us inside that investigation: from the first tip-off that something didn’t quite add up, through months of document-trawling and interviews, to the ethical, legal and emotional decisions involved in publishing a story that challenged a book so many people loved. We also talk more broadly about narrative investigation as a form, what kinds of stories Chloe is drawn to, what this case says about our appetite for certain kinds of stories — and what advice she has for early-career journalists who want to do deep, patient reporting in a fast and pressured media environment. You can read Chloe's reporting for the Observer at https://observer.co.uk/contributor/chloe-hadjimatheou and listen to her podcast series by searching for "The Walkers" on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or BBC Sounds. J-Lab is a podcast by the Civic Journalism Lab at Newcastle University.

In this episode, we talk with award-winning investigative journalist Dani Garavelli, whose reporting for the London Review of Books on the suicides of Katie Allan and William Lindsay at Polmont Young Offenders Institution has been nominated for a British Journalism Award. Dani has spent years uncovering the systemic failures that contributed to these deaths — and has also reported some of Scotland’s most significant recent stories, from the Sheku Bayoh case to the Alex Salmond trial, as well as long-form investigations into domestic abuse, youth justice and institutional accountability. In our conversation we talk about how she gained the trust of grieving families, what her reporting revealed about Scotland’s justice and care systems, how she structures complex features and what advice she has for young journalists who want to hold powerful institutions to account. You can read Dani's award-nominated feature "Jailed, Failed, Forgotten: Deaths in Custody" at https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v47/n03/dani-garavelli/jailed-failed-forgotten and follow her on X @DaniGaravelli1 J-Lab is a podcast by the Civic Journalism Lab at Newcastle University

Our guest on this episode is The i Paper’s chief football writer, Daniel Storey, who has just completed an extraordinary project: visiting and reporting from all 92 Premier and EFL (English Football League) clubs in a single season. Seventeen-thousand miles, 80 interviews and nearly 200,000 words later, he has produced a portrait of English football that’s as much about people and place as it is about goals. In this conversation, you'll hear Daniel explain how he convinced himself, and his editors, to take on the project, what he learned about football clubs and the vital civic role they perform in their towns, and how he views the future of local sports reporting. He also offers advice to young and early-career journalists hoping to break into the competitive world of sports reporting. You can read Daniel's full "Doing the 92" series at inews.co.uk and follow him on X @danielstorey85 J-Lab is a podcast by the Civic Journalism Lab at Newcastle University

As the public’s fascination with crime stories grows, so too does the responsibility of those who bring these stories to light. Whether through traditional journalism or increasingly popular true crime content, the way these narratives are crafted can shape perceptions, impact communities and, significantly, affect the lives of victims and their families. Our first guest on this episode is Bethany Usher, lecturer in journalism at Newcastle University, and author of a new book titled Journalism and Crime. Bethany is researching how we might create new codes of practice, for crime reporters, true crime content creators and police comms teams as well as for social media influencers and amateur sleuths. We recently hosted an afternoon of discussion on crime and journalism at Newcastle University, so later in this episode you’ll hear the views and opinions of crime reporters Anthony France of the Standard and Sophie Doughty of the Chronicle; Newsquest group editor Joy Yates, who’s a Society of Editors board member; Dominic Ponsford, Press Gazette’s editor-in-chief; true crime podcaster Hayley Mortimer of the BBC; true crime commissioner for Hearst Networks Diana Carter; Alice Gould, Independent Press Standards Organisation head of complaints; Eve McDowell, co-founder of Stalking Ireland; Clare Hoban, media content lawyer and true crime specialist at Reviewed and Cleared; and true crime scholars Kelli Boling (University of Nebraska), Megan Hoffman and Simon Hobbs (University of Portsmouth) and Barbara Henderson (Newcastle University). J-Lab is a podcast by the Civic Journalism Lab at Newcastle University.

Our guest on this episode is Jessica Hill, senior investigations and features reporter for Schools Week and FE Week. Jessica was the first journalist to reveal to the general public how reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) was ‘a ticking time bomb’ making school buildings ‘liable to collapse’. She brought the scale of the danger to an even wider audience when she persuaded The Guardian to run a story that led to the emergency closure of more than 100 schools. Jessica was named Specialist Journalist of the Year at last month’s Press Awards and in our conversation details her reporting of the RAAC crisis, and explains the importance of specialist reporting and vital role played by trade and industry titles. She also discusses why she quit journalism for 15 years... and what drew her back. J-Lab is a podcast by the Civic Journalism Lab at Newcastle University.

Our guest on this episode is Paul Morgan-Bentley, head of investigations at The Times newspaper, who has just scooped Investigation of the Year at the Press Awards for undercover reporting that exposed the force-fitting of British Gas meters in the homes of vulnerable people. In our conversation, Paul explains how he reported this story, why he thinks undercover reporting is so important and offers advice for early career journalists on door-knocking…and converting work experience into proper jobs. J-Lab is a podcast by the Civic Journalism Lab at Newcastle University.

Our guest on the latest episode of the J-Lab podcast is Martina Lees, a senior writer for the Sunday Times. Next month sees the sixth anniversary of the Grenfell Tower disaster, when fire destroyed a 23-storey tower block in West London, killing 72 people. Martina has spent much of the last few years seeking answers to why the disaster really happened, and who was to blame. She recently won a British Journalism Award for holding to account those responsible for the biggest public housing scandal in 50 years, and for campaigning to free millions of people from having to pay for dangerous cladding to be replaced. In our conversation, Martina explains why she became a journalist, what interested her in reporting this particular story, how she turned her reporting into an impactful campaign and how to ask the questions that no-one else is asking. J-Lab is a podcast by the Civic Journalism Lab at Newcastle University.

Our J-Lab guest this episode is Hannah Barnes, investigations producer for the BBC’s Newsnight programme. Hannah’s reports with science correspondent Deborah Cohen and her subsequent book about the rise and fall of the Gender Identity Development Service (Gids) for children at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust in north London are the result of intensive reporting, carried out across several years and based on more than 100 hours of interviews with Gids’ clinicians, former patients, and other experts. Gids was established to provide talking therapies to young people who were questioning their gender identity. But 15 years after the service was founded, staff began expressing concerns about the rapid rise in patient referrals to endocrinologists who would prescribe hormone blockers designed to delay puberty. Many young people with complex case histories of autism, eating disorders or histories of family abuse were being referred to the service, then given puberty blockers. Clinicians interviewed by Hannah for her Time to Think book compared it to East German doping scandals in the 1970s or failings at the Mid Staffs hospital in the 2000s. The clinic will shut later this year, to be replaced by a number of regional centres that will aim to offer more holistic treatment. This has been a difficult subject for Hannah to report - some trans people see criticism of Gids as attempts to stop children transitioning at all; some gender-critical campaigners treat its closure as vindication of wider arguments. Hannah’s book makes the point that this isn’t a culture war story. It's a medical scandal. And yet while her scrupulous and meticulously researched journalism – with 70 pages of notes and references – has been widely praised in reviews from the Guardian to the Telegraph, more than 20 publishers passed on the chance to publish her book. Her eventual publisher, Swift Press, struggled to find people who would even copy-edit the book or design its cover. In this conversation, Hannah outlines her analytical, source-based methods, and offers advice on how to retain a questioning approach during reporting, while always treating contributors and interviewees with decency and respect. J-Lab is a podcast by the Civic Journalism Lab at Newcastle University.

Around 4,300 cases a week are heard in the family courts in England and Wales and the number of applications for children to be taken into council care has is around 13,000 each year. And yet remarkably little is known by most people about what goes on in family courts. In this latest episode, our guest is Louise Tickle, a multi-award winning freelance journalist who has reported extensively on domestic abuse, child protection and the family courts - and how the lack of scrutiny and transparency in these courts means many women and families are being tragically failed by the justice system. Last year, Louise’s investigations for Channel 4’s Dispatches programme exposed cases of families traumatised by their encounters with family courts and judges hiding poor decisions behind secrecy rules. Earlier this year, Louise’s reporting for BBC Panorama shared the troubling stories of families who felt failed by local authorities and social workers when their children were taken into care. And her recent podcasts for Tortoise Media have exposed how a former government minister abused the secrecy of the family courts in an attempt to hide the truth that he had abused and raped his wife. In our conversation, Louise explains how she developed a journalistic interest in these areas, the pros and cons of conducting her investigations as a freelance, how she’s grown in confidence in challenging reporting restrictions and why she believes journalists have a unique and critical role in holding courts to account. J-Lab is a podcast by the Civic Journalism Lab at Newcastle University.

New laws banning independent coverage of the invasion of Ukraine have forced many news outlets to leave Russia. Meduza claims to be Russia’s biggest independent media outlet even though its editors have been based, in exile, in neighbouring Latvia for most of the last 10 years. In recent years Meduza’s reporting has ranged from exposing the presence of Russian mercenaries in Venezuela to uncovering the machinations of the Kremin’s propaganda apparatus. Now it finds itself reporting the war in Ukraine, but just last week it had to evacuate more than 20 of its reporters from Russia In this episode, we speak with Meduza editor-in-chief and co-founder Ivan Kolpakov who explains what life has been like for Russian journalists under Vladimir Putin, a leader who uses the power of TV to spread propaganda and convince the Russian people of his narrative. Ivan describes how it's possible to operate in exile, and why he believes it will take a long time for independent journalism to help Russian people see through the disinformation and lies. To support the work of Meduza, visit https://save.meduza.io/eu

Our guest this time is Joshi Herrmann, who began the pandemic intending to write a book in the Czech Republic… but instead launched a venture in Manchester that shows there might after all be a viable future for good quality, local news reporting. In just 18 months, Joshi Herrmann has signed up 16,000 free subscribers (and more than 1,000 paid) to The Mill, his weekly email newsletter. And thanks to funding from Substack, he has launched two more titles: The Tribune in Sheffield and The Post in Liverpool. In this episode, you'll hear Joshi explain the business model behind The Mill, describe how its journalism differs from traditional local newspaper reporting, and unpick why he made the switch from working as a national and international journalist. J-Lab is a podcast brought to you by the Civic Journalism Lab at Newcastle University.

In this episode, our guest is a journalist who has had three features shortlisted for this year’s British Journalism Awards – in one, she meets women who clear landmines in Lebanon, in another she talks to female footballers tackling France’s on-pitch hijab ban, while in the third she reports on the conditions endured by asylum seekers in the controversial Napier Barracks. With this kind of portfolio, you might expect Jessie Williams to be an experienced, veteran hack – but she is actually a young, freelance foreign reporter in the early stages of her career. Her features have been published in The Observer Magazine, Foreign Policy, The Economist, The Independent, Al Jazeera, The Telegraph, VICE World News, openDemocracy, the Financial Times, Huck Magazine, Middle East Eye, Dazed, The Guardian, BBC Travel, Shado Magazine, Novara Media, Refinery29, The i Newspaper, BRICKS Magazine and The Hackney Gazette. In our conversation, Jessie explains how she got her break in journalism, the kind of stories she likes to report, the importance of working collaboratively on story ideas, the challenge of getting features commissioned and her advice to anyone embarking on their journey as a freelance journalist. J-Lab is a podcast brought to you by the Civic Journalism Lab at Newcastle University. The intro music and sound effects are taken from Into The Fire, a short documentary by National Geographic about the all-female team of Yazidi deminers.

Eliot Higgins is founder of online investigative collective Bellingcat which, over the last 10 years, has used open source investigation techniques to prove that Syria’s regime used chemical weapons against its citizens, find evidence of Russian involvement in the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17, and unmask the “kill teams” who poisoned Russian defector Sergei Skripal and opposition leader Alexei Navalny. In this episode, Eliot describes how he taught himself open source methods, outlines what makes Bellingcat different to conventional investigative teams and offers advice to early-career journalists. He also explains why Chinese-speaking open source investigators are highly prized... and why he doesn't order room service or leave his underpants unattended. J-Lab is a podcast brought to you by the Civic Journalism Lab at Newcastle University.