Charles Thomson (journalist)

Charles Thomson
File:Charles Thomson (journalist).png Charles Thomson interviewed for the French TV station M6 on June 7, 2012.
Born	18 April 1988 (1988-04-18) (age 36) United Kingdom
Occupation	Music journalist
Website	www.charles-thomson.net

Charles Thomson (born 18 April 1988) is a multi-award-winning journalist from Great Britain. He has won accolades for his investigative journalism, feature-writing, court reporting and campaigning. His stories have been published by media outlets including The Sun, The Mirror, The Guardian, MOJO, Wax Poetics and the Huffington Post. His past interviewees include music legends Martha Reeves, Eddy Grant, George Clinton and James Brown. He has also contributed to two popular biographies of Michael Jackson. His specialisms include the justice system and black music.

Work

Court Reporting

Thomson has covered several court cases of national significance and won an award for his court reporting in 2012.

At the EDF Energy Regional Media Awards 2012, Thomson received a ‘Highly Commended’ award in the ‘Newcomer of the Year’ category, for a collection of work which included overturning a court order to unmask a sex offender. After arriving at court to report on a man who had collected more than 100,000 child sex abuse images, Thomson said he was surprised to discover the culprit’s identity had been rendered unpublishable by a gagging order. During the sentencing hearing, Thomson made an unplanned, single-handed challenge, which saw him trade legal arguments with defense counsel and persuade the presiding judge to scrap the court order.

The 2012 award was also given for a story revealing a sex abuse cover-up by the Jehovah's Witnesses church. Thomson’s exclusive report, which emanated from a court hearing, revealed how a child molester was left free to continue abusing young girls after church elders were informed of his early crimes but failed to alert the authorities – drawing criticism from a crown court judge. He also explored how legal loopholes had allowed the elders to cover-up the crimes.

Thomson has reported on numerous other sex offence cases, some of which have made national headlines. In 2011, he was the only journalist present for the court case of Stephen Clark, who amassed the second-largest collection of indecent images of children in British history. Clark told the authorities he had not created any victims and that hoarding the images was no different to collecting cigarette cards or snuff boxes. Thomson’s court report was picked up by national and regional press. In 2013, Clark breached the terms of his licence just 13 days after his release from prison. Thomson exclusively followed him through the court system a second time.

Another notable sex case was the trial of Dr Anton Van Dellen, former chief executive of the Welsh Ambulance Service, who was falsely accused of grooming a young boy. Thomson was the only reporter to sit in on the entirety of the case, where Van Dellen was defended by noted barrister Patrick Gibbs. Thomson produced a three-page special report on the case for the Yellow Advertiser.

Thomson has covered many cases which did not involve alleged sex offences. They include the prosecution of Michelle Kelly for ‘kidnapping’ her own son after social services spied on her Facebook page and decided she was an unfit mother, and the case of gay hairdresser Lee Howett, who attracted national media coverage when he was jailed for stabbing a man who had targeted him for homophobic abuse.

In February 2013, Thomson was the only print journalist to sit in on the entirety of Lord Hanningfield’s wrongful arrest trial, in which he brought a private prosecution against Essex Police. The story attracted national media attention as Hanningfield was one of the highest profile victims of Britain’s 2010 parliamentary expenses scandal, having been successfully prosecuted and jailed in 2011. Hanningfield won the court case against the police force. Thomson produced a five-page special report for Essex newspaper the Yellow Advertiser.

In January 2015, Thomson was present for the court case of Lewis Daynes, who was convicted of murdering 14-year-old school boy Breck Bednar. He live-tweeted the case from court and produced a five-page special report for the Yellow Advertiser – the most in-depth to appear in any newspaper, Thomson said. He wrote on his blog that sitting in the hearing had been ‘harrowing’ and ‘distressing’

In 2011 Thomson live-tweeted almost every day of Conrad Murray’s involuntary manslaughter trial over the death of Michael Jackson. He was quoted several times by the Houston Chronicle. 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.” 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.” http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/gallery/2009/nov/26/student-media-awards-winners#/?picture=356099268&index=4 http://www.basildonrecorder.co.uk/news/4803746.Young_journalist_praised_for____extraordinary_piece_of_work___/ http://www.charles-thomson.net/about-jamesbrown.html Shortly after winning the award, Thomson – aged 21 – 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. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/charles-thomson/ http://www.charles-thomson.net/index.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/charles-thomson/death-penalty-south-_b_977813.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/charles-thomson/animals-whores-dialogue-t_b_658368.html Thomson’s second Huffington Post article, ‘One of the Most Shameful Episodes in Journalistic History’, was published on the fifth anniversary of the verdicts in Michael Jackson’s 2005 child molestation trial. The article compared trial transcripts to media reporting, arguing that journalists had deliberately skewed their reporting in favour of the prosecution. It was praised by Jackson’s defence lawyer Tom Mesereau, who continues to refer journalists to the article when they contact him with trial queries. It has also been been referenced in two Jackson biographies: Joe Vogels ‘Man in the Music’ and Randall Sullivan’s ‘Untouchable’. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/charles-thomson/one-of-the-most-shameful_b_610258.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEetgoncdE4 http://charlesthomsonjournalist.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/another-tom-mesereau-endorsement.html http://www.charles-thomson.net/about-jackson.html In addition to investigative features, Thomson specialises 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. http://www.orchardtimes.com/exclusive-jermaine-jackson-interview http://www.charles-thomson.net/hanningfield-first-interview.html http://www.charles-thomson.net/martha.html http://www.charles-thomson.net/cazwell.html http://www.charles-thomson.net/feature-clive-stafford-smith.html http://www.charles-thomson.net/feature-bootsy-interview.html http://charlesthomsonjournalist.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/judges-described-charles-thomson-as.html Thomson’s interviews have repeatedly unearthed exclusive news stories. In a 2010 interview, ‘This Is It’ backing dancer Kriyss Grant spoke in detail for the first time about his concerns over the way Michael Jackson was treated in rehearsals. An interview later that year with James Brown’s widow, Tomi Rae Brown, exclusively revealed that executors of the soul star’s estate had cut his legs off to obtain bone marrow for a DNA test. In a 2013 interview with Thomson, rock star Wilko Johnson announced for the first time that he was planning an album with The Who frontman Roger Daltrey. http://www.charles-thomson.net/kriyss-grant-interview.html http://www.charles-thomson.net/tomi_rae_brown.html http://www.charles-thomson.net/feature-wilko-interview.html http://charlesthomsonjournalist.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/wilko-johnson-interview.html Thomson has used a first person, ‘gonzo journalism’ approach to recount unusual interviews, perhaps most notably when his attempted interview with shamed 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 which formed part of a portfolio that won him a ‘Highly Commended’ award in the ‘Newcomer of the Year’ category at the EDF 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. http://www.yellowad.co.uk/news.cfm?id=8870&searchWord=barrymore&searchYear=2012 http://charlesthomsonjournalist.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/judges-described-charles-thomson-as.html http://www.yellowad.co.uk/news.cfm?id=7679&searchWord=commended&searchYear=2013 http://www.charles-thomson.net/feature-vfest-beyonce.html http://www.charles-thomson.net/feature-vfest-murs.html http://www.yellowad.co.uk/news.cfm?id=35623&searchWord=steadman&searchYear=2012

Investigative

Thomson has won several awards for his investigative journalism. http://www.basildonrecorder.co.uk/news/4803746.Young_journalist_praised_for____extraordinary_piece_of_work___/ http://www.yellowad.co.uk/news.cfm?id=7679&searchWord=commended&searchYear=2013 http://www.yellowad.co.uk/news.cfm?id=9907&searchWord=wins&searchYear=2015 In 2009 Thomson won a ‘Special Commendation’ for feature writing at the Guardian Student Media Awards. The award was given after he tracked down more than a dozen musicians, songwriters, managers and studio engineers who worked on soul singer James Brown’s final, unreleased album, in order to piece together the story of the musician’s final days in the studio. In a statement issued by the Guardian after the win, a judge commented: “I thought it was the best piece of student journalism I’d read in a long time, if not ever.” At the EDF Energy Regional Media Awards 2012, Thomson received a ‘Highly Commended’ award in the ‘Newcomer of the Year’ category, for a portfolio which included an investigation into a sex abuse cover-up by the Jehovah’s Witness church, which also drew attention to legal loopholes which allowed church elders to hide a congregant’s sexual abuse of young girls. http://www.charles-thomson.net/court-jehovahs-menu.html http://charlesthomsonjournalist.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/award-nomination.html http://charlesthomsonjournalist.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/how-i-stumbled-upon-religious-sex-abuse.html http://www.yellowad.co.uk/news.cfm?id=7679&searchWord=commended&searchYear=2013 At the 2014 EDF Regional Media Awards, Thomson was named ‘Weekly Print Journalist of the Year’ for a collection of investigative and campaigning journalism. One story saw Thomson take legal action against Essex Council in order to uncover documents which showed that teachers accused of sexual abuse were never reported to police – even though internal investigations had ruled the allegations were ‘founded’, and some of the teachers had been banned from ever working with children for the council again. A second investigation uncovered incompetence at the Government Job Centre, which Thomson proved had unwittingly signed up a wanted criminal who had escaped from a life sentence in prison. After signing up the dangerous felon, the Job Centre had sent him to work for a local company. His identity was rumbled by bosses at his new company, when they looked him up online after he threatened to murder a senior employee over a pay dispute. Once police were alerted that the escaped prisoner was working for the company, the Job Centre refused to tell them where he lived, claiming it was ‘personal information’. http://www.yellowad.co.uk/news.cfm?id=9907&searchWord=wins&searchYear=2015 http://charlesthomsonjournalist.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/print-journalist-of-year.html http://www.yellowad.co.uk/news.cfm?id=34734&searchWord=bureaucracy&searchYear=2014 http://www.yellowad.co.uk/news.cfm?id=10838&searchWord=shock&searchYear=2014 The third investigation which won him the award was part of a road safety campaign, which also received an award at the same ceremony. Essex Council had refused to put up traffic calming measures on a road where a young man was killed, claiming they were ‘unnecessary’. Thomson took legal action to obtain documents which included a speed survey showing that motorists were regularly speeding along the road in question at up to twice the legal speed limit. A separate legal action by Thomson uncovered correspondence showing the council had been warned that an accident was likely to occur on the stretch of road where the man was killed just weeks later – but still refused to take action, even after the fatality. http://www.yellowad.co.uk/news.cfm?id=25834&searchWord=death&searchYear=2013 http://www.yellowad.co.uk/news.cfm?id=8608&searchWord=dry&searchYear=2014

James Brown

In October 2006, having just begun his journalism degree studies, Thomson was invited to a pre-show press conference Brown at The Roundhouse in London. During the press conference, Thomson asked Brown about an album he was working on. Less than two months after the press conference, Brown died.

In 2008, Thomson would interview 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", was printed in Thomson’s self-published JIVE magazine, winning him 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, awarded Thomson the most in-depth interview she had ever given to any reporter. 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 on 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.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/charles-thomson/james-brown-the-highs-and_b_6049472.html

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 je Thomson said he was contacted by a British tabloid to supply information about the 1993 sexual abuse allegations against Jackson, only to have them replace his carefully researched information with the common myths he advised them to avoid, and that the same misinformation was in every article he read about the 2009 suicide of Evan Chandler, the father of Jackson's accuser. He noted when Jackson's FBI file was released the following month, the contents were portrayed by the media as giving an impression of guilt even though the file strongly supported his innocence. He noted how Gene Simmons' allegations in 2010 about Jackson molesting children received over a hundred times more coverage than his interview with Jackson's long-time guitarist, Jennifer Batten, who rebutted Simmons' claims.

For celebrity news website Sawf News, 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.

On the fifth anniversary of Jackson's acquittal on child abuse charges, Thomson posted an essay on his Huffington Post blog about the media's inaccurate reporting on the star's trial. Entitled "One of the Most Shameful Episodes in Journalistic History", the piece drew on trial transcripts and compared testimony in the case to inaccurate newspaper, magazine and TV reports about the proceedings. 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 defence attorney Thomas Mesereau and has been cited in two Jackson biographies – Joe Vogel’s ‘Man in the Music’ and Randall Sullivan’s ‘Untouchable’.

Thomson has contributed to two best-selling biographies of Michael Jackson. In July 2009 Thomson wrote a half-page article for inclusion in Michael Heatley's pictorial biography Michael Jackson: Life of a Legend. In February 2010 Thomson penned exclusive passages for inclusion in J. Randy Taraborrelli’s book Michael Jackson: The Magic, the Madness, the Whole Story.

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 Jacksons’ 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 two articles on the Huffington Post that releasing posthumous albums is a direct contradiction of Jackson’s beliefs and wishes, as stated in several interviews and writings during his lifetime.

Awards

In November 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.”

Thomson received a ‘Highly Commended’ award in the ‘Newcomer of the Year’ category at the EDF Energy Regional Media Awards, 2012. A panel of journalists praised his ‘perseverance’ in single-handedly overturning a court ruling which granted anonymity to a paedophile, and commended his exposé of a man who continued abusing young girls at a local Jehovah’s Witnesses church after church elders failed to report his previous crimes to police. A statement read at the ceremony said: “The judges described Charles as having a good writing style and being a credit to the newsroom, but also a livewire who at times must turn his editor’s hair white.”

At the 2014 EDF Energy Regional Media Awards, Thomson was named ‘Weekly Print Journalist of the Year’. Judges said his work ‘evidenced responsible reporting, confidence of contacts and readers, and consistently high journalism’. He won the award for a body of work including an investigation which saw him take legal action against Essex Council, in order to reveal the authority had failed to report alleged child sex abuse by teachers to the police, even when internal investigations determined the allegations were ‘founded’. Another winning article told how the Government Job Centre had unwittingly signed up an escaped life sentence prisoner, sent him to work in a telecommunications company, then refused to tell police where he lived, claiming it was ‘personal information’. At the same ceremony, Thomson received a ‘Highly Commended’ award in the ‘Community Campaign of the Year’ category, for a road safety campaign he oversaw in the wake of a young man’s death. Thomson was accompanied to the ceremony by his employer, 89-year-old newspaper proprietor Sir Ray Tindle, who was knighted in 1994 for services to the newspaper industry.

External links

• Official website
• Huffington Post articles