From finding yourself in the midst of a civil war to working undercover in an Indian brothel, join us for this one-day workshop that will introduce you to life as an investigative human rights reporter or researcher.

Whether you are looking to start out in human rights investigating, want to shift your journalism focus to a more investigative bent, or simply have a critical mind, this session will give you the tools to help set up and pitch investigations; from filing a Freedom of Information request to being aware of the ethical implications of using subterfuge.

Importantly, it will also teach you how to have one of the most interesting jobs in the world and how to survive doing it.

What we will cover:

• The Life of a Human Rights Investigator – the current state of journalism and NGOs.
• How to survive as an Investigative researcher / reporter – how to pitch ideas and make a mark.
• Tools of the Trade: Freedom of Information requests
• Tools of the Trade: Computer Assisted Reporting
• Cultivating sources : interviewing & handling whistleblowers
• Undercover: Practicalities, Ethics & Experiences

The workshop will be led by award-winning investigative journalist Iain Overton.  Overton has conducted investigations into areas that include counterfeiting in the pharmaceutical industry, UK deaths in custody, corporate killings in Iraq, and Glasgow gang-land murders linked to security contracts. His work has been recognized with a Peabody Award,  two Amnesty International Awards, a OneWorld Award, a Prix Circom, a BAFTA Scotland and 3 RTS nominations, amongst others. He is the author of Gun Baby Gun (shortlisted for a Dagger award) and is the Executive Director of Action on Armed Violence – a research charity that investigates the arms trade.

Here’s what participants had to say about Iain’s recent workshop at the club:

“Really well done – the workshop was rich with practical knowledge.”

“I enjoyed Iain’s wealth of direct experience of what he talked about and of course his passion.”

“This workshop has stretched me to think and pause in amongst the creative process. It was a good combination of practical advice and encouragement to do great human rights investigations.”

“The passion and richness of experience covered opened my mind to new techniques and opportunities and ideas.”

“It was very, very informative and inspiring.”

“Fascinating. I loved listening to his individual stories and case studies – how other journalists tackle and tell their stories.”

“It was inspiring and honest.”

Images: Churikov Eduard / Shutterstock.com; Iain Overton

From finding yourself in the midst of a civil war to working undercover in an Indian brothel, join us for this one-day workshop that will introduce you to life as an investigative human rights reporter or researcher.

Whether you are looking to start out in human rights investigating, want to shift your journalism focus to a more investigative bent, or simply have a critical mind, this session will give you the tools to help set up and pitch investigations; from filing a Freedom of Information request to being aware of the ethical implications of using subterfuge.

Importantly, it will also teach you how to have one of the most interesting jobs in the world and how to survive doing it.

What we will cover:

• The Life of a Human Rights Investigator – the current state of journalism and NGOs.
• How to survive as an Investigative researcher / reporter – how to pitch ideas and make a mark.
• Tools of the Trade: Freedom of Information requests
• Tools of the Trade: Computer Assisted Reporting
• Cultivating sources : interviewing & handling whistleblowers
• Undercover: Practicalities, Ethics & Experiences

The workshop will be led by award-winning investigative journalist Iain Overton.  Overton has conducted investigations into areas that include counterfeiting in the pharmaceutical industry, UK deaths in custody, corporate killings in Iraq, and Glasgow gang-land murders linked to security contracts. His work has been recognized with a Peabody Award,  two Amnesty International Awards, a OneWorld Award, a Prix Circom, a BAFTA Scotland and 3 RTS nominations, amongst others. He is the author of Gun Baby Gun (shortlisted for a Dagger award) and is the Executive Director of Action on Armed Violence – a research charity that investigates the arms trade.

Here’s what participants had to say about Iain’s recent workshop at the club:

“Really well done – the workshop was rich with practical knowledge.”

“I enjoyed Iain’s wealth of direct experience of what he talked about and of course his passion.”

“This workshop has stretched me to think and pause in amongst the creative process. It was a good combination of practical advice and encouragement to do great human rights investigations.”

“The passion and richness of experience covered opened my mind to new techniques and opportunities and ideas.”

“It was very, very informative and inspiring.”

“Fascinating. I loved listening to his individual stories and case studies – how other journalists tackle and tell their stories.”

“It was inspiring and honest.”

Images: Churikov Eduard / Shutterstock.com; Iain Overton

Whether researching human rights abuses in a civil war, or exposing human trafficking in the sex trade, this one-day workshop will introduce you to the life of investigative reporting.

Whether you already have experience in the field, are looking to start out, or simply have a critical mind, this workshop will equip you with the knowledge you need. Overall, this session will give you the tools to help set up an investigation; from filing a Freedom of Information request to being aware of ethical implications of undercover reporting. Importantly, it will also help you tell the stories that matter, and teach you how to have one of the most interesting jobs in the world and how to survive doing it.

The workshop will be led by award-winning investigative journalist Iain Overton. Overton has conducted investigations in areas that include counterfeiting in the pharmaceutical industry, UK deaths in custody, corporate killings in Iraq, and Glasgow gang-land murders linked to security contracts. His work has been recognised with a Peabody Award, two Amnesty International Awards, a OneWorld Award, a Prix Circom, a BAFTA Scotland and three RTS nominations, amongst others.

Here’s what participants had to say about Iain’s recent workshop at the club:

“Really well done – the workshop was rich with practical knowledge.”

“I enjoyed Iain’s wealth of direct experience of what he talked about and of course his passion.”

“This workshop has stretched me to think and pause in amongst the creative process. It was a good combination of practical advice and encouragement to do great human rights investigations.”

“The passion and richness of experience covered opened my mind to new techniques and opportunities and ideas.”

“It was very, very informative and inspiring.”

“Fascinating. I loved listening to his individual stories and case studies – how other journalists tackle and tell their stories.”

“It was inspiring and honest.”

Overton is currently the Executive Director at the international organisation Action on Armed Violence and has written a book for Canongate about the impact of guns worldwide.

What we will cover:

1. How to survive as a human rights investigative reporter.
2. Exposés and undercover reporting: ethics and practical considerations
3. Tools of the human rights investigative trade: from FOI submissions to data journalism
4. Making an impact: how to secure commissions, media collaborations and fund self-publishing
5. Storytelling: how to tell your story so that it matters.

Images: Churikov Eduard / Shutterstock.com; Iain Overton

Whether researching human rights abuses in a civil war, or exposing human trafficking in the sex trade, this one-day workshop will introduce you to the life of investigative reporting.

Whether you already have experience in the field, are looking to start out, or simply have a critical mind, this workshop will equip you with the knowledge you need. Overall, this session will give you the tools to help set up an investigation; from filing a Freedom of Information request to being aware of ethical implications of undercover reporting. Importantly, it will also help you tell the stories that matter, and teach you how to have one of the most interesting jobs in the world and how to survive doing it.

The workshop will be led by award-winning investigative journalist Iain Overton. Overton has conducted investigations in areas that include counterfeiting in the pharmaceutical industry, UK deaths in custody, corporate killings in Iraq, and Glasgow gang-land murders linked to security contracts. His work has been recognised with a Peabody Award, two Amnesty International Awards, a OneWorld Award, a Prix Circom, a BAFTA Scotland and three RTS nominations, amongst others.

Here’s what participants had to say about Iain’s recent workshop at the club:

“Really well done – the workshop was rich with practical knowledge.”

“I enjoyed Iain’s wealth of direct experience of what he talked about and of course his passion.”

“This workshop has stretched me to think and pause in amongst the creative process. It was a good combination of practical advice and encouragement to do great human rights investigations.”

“The passion and richness of experience covered opened my mind to new techniques and opportunities and ideas.”

“It was very, very informative and inspiring.”

“Fascinating. I loved listening to his individual stories and case studies – how other journalists tackle and tell their stories.”

“It was inspiring and honest.”

Overton is currently the Director of Investigations at the international organisation Action on Armed Violence and has recently writing a book for Canongate about the impact of guns worldwide.

What we will cover:

1. How to survive as a human rights investigative reporter.
2. Exposés and undercover reporting: ethics and practical considerations
3. Tools of the human rights investigative trade: from FOI submissions to data journalism
4. Making an impact: how to secure commissions, media collaborations and fund self-publishing
5. Storytelling: how to tell your story so that it matters.

Images: Churikov Eduard / Shutterstock.com; Iain Overton

Are you interested in learning how to tell a compelling story? How to pitch successful ideas to commissioners? How to translate exposing data into hard hitting reporting? Then join this one day seminar that focuses on the art of storytelling in journalism.

Iain Overton, an award-winning investigative reporter, is well placed to lead this day. His latest book, Gun Baby Gun, was bought by the UK’s leading independent publishing house, Canongate, within an hour of being submitted.

We will focus on the art of the cultivated pitch, the storytelling framing of long-form documentaries and print articles, how to capture the essence of a story, and the transformation of hard data into even harder narratives.

This is a new course from Overton at the Frontline Club. Here’s what people have previously said about his Human Right Investigative Reporting workshop:

“An excellent workshop. I hugely enjoyed Iain’s presentations and observations as well as his passion and and rich practical knowledge. Thank you.”

“Really well done – the workshop was rich with practical knowledge.”

“This workshop has stretched me to think and pause in amongst the creative process. It was a good combination of practical advice and encouragement to do great human rights investigations.”

“The passion and richness of experience covered opened my mind to new techniques and opportunities and ideas.”

“It was very, very informative and inspiring.”

“Fascinating. I loved listening to his individual stories and case studies – how other journalists tackle and tell their stories.”

In the last two decades working as a journalist with a focus on human rights, Overton has worked across TV, print and online. His documentaries have won him a Peabody, a Scottish Bafta and a One World Media Award, as well as three Royal Television Society nominations, while his online work has been awarded with two Amnesty International Media Awards.

Shifting on from TV and online storytelling, Overton then began writing long-form. His book was described by Jon Snow as ‘brilliant’, by GQ as ‘gripping reportage that’s as disturbing as it is enlightening’. The Financial Times called it ‘adventurous, ambitiously tracing the often devastating impact of guns around the world . . . [it] contains moments of great poignancy’, and The Independent said: ‘This book is more than just facts, it’s insight and revelation on a very human level.’

Images: JMicic / Shutterstock.com; Iain Overton

Whether researching human rights abuses in a civil war, or exposing human trafficking in the sex trade, this one-day workshop will introduce you to the life of investigative reporting.

Whether you already have experience in the field, are looking to start out, or simply have a critical mind, this workshop will equip you with the knowledge you need. Overall, this session will give you the tools to help set up an investigation; from filing a Freedom of Information request to being aware of ethical implications of undercover reporting. Importantly, it will also help you tell the stories that matter, and teach you how to have one of the most interesting jobs in the world and how to survive doing it.

The workshop will be led by award-winning investigative journalist Iain Overton. Overton has conducted investigations in areas that include counterfeiting in the pharmaceutical industry, UK deaths in custody, corporate killings in Iraq, and Glasgow gang-land murders linked to security contracts. His work has been recognised with a Peabody Award, two Amnesty International Awards, a OneWorld Award, a Prix Circom, a BAFTA Scotland and three RTS nominations, amongst others.

Here’s what participants had to say about Iain’s recent workshop at the club:

“Really well done – the workshop was rich with practical knowledge.”

“I enjoyed Iain’s wealth of direct experience of what he talked about and of course his passion.”

“This workshop has stretched me to think and pause in amongst the creative process. It was a good combination of practical advice and encouragement to do great human rights investigations.”

“The passion and richness of experience covered opened my mind to new techniques and opportunities and ideas.”

“It was very, very informative and inspiring.”

“Fascinating. I loved listening to his individual stories and case studies – how other journalists tackle and tell their stories.”

“It was inspiring and honest.”

Overton is currently the Director of Investigations at the international organisation Action on Armed Violence and has recently writing a book for Canongate about the impact of guns worldwide.

What we will cover:

1. How to survive as a human rights investigative reporter.
2. Exposés and undercover reporting: ethics and practical considerations
3. Tools of the human rights investigative trade: from FOI submissions to data journalism
4. Making an impact: how to secure commissions, media collaborations and fund self-publishing
5. Storytelling: how to tell your story so that it matters.

Images: Churikov Eduard / Shutterstock.com; Iain Overton

Iain Overton

By Will Worley

On Wednesday 22 April 2015, the Frontline Club welcomed investigative journalist and director of policy and investigations at UK charity Action on Armed Violence, Iain Overton for a discussion on his latest book, Gun Baby Gun: A Bloody Journey into the World of the Gun. The event was chaired by ANC former politician and author Andrew Feinstein, who has written extensively on the global arms trade.

Overton began by reading an extract from Gun Baby Gun, describing the aftermath of a brutal shooting in Brazil. Soon after witnessing this event, he visited a basement gun repository in Sao Paulo, where he found “thousands and thousands of guns across the walls, a bit like a horrific library, where every sort of gun seemed to have a background story.”

This “basement of horrors” led Overton to realise that every single gun present “told this story of disconnected realities.”

The ignorance of arms manufacturers and dealers as to the eventual fate of their guns “made me think how the gun is separated in all of its different segments.”

Overton elaborated on the many aspects of the gun covered by his book: “its dead, its wounded, the suicidal, the killers, the criminals, the police, the military, civilians, hunters, traders, smugglers, lobbyists, manufacturers.” The relationship between gender and the cult of the gun is even explored in a chapter aptly titled ‘Sex Pistols.’

“Every single isolated group around the gun is seen through my eyes as part of a whole.”

Guns are the biggest killer in war – 90% of deaths during conflict are a result of guns. They are also the biggest killer in armed violence – 60% of all violent deaths are by the gun. In the USA, 20,000 people commit suicide every year with a gun. Although the National Rifle Association (NRA) claims that gun deaths in the US have fallen significantly, this is down to significant advancements in trauma care, largely developed as a result of the experiences of the military in Iraq and Afghanistan. What is not often taken into account is the colossal rise in the numbers of those wounded by guns annually.

The ubiquity of guns in some parts of the world and the resulting violence go largely unreported internationally, despite huge numbers of casualties. Central America is a particular case in point, as El Salvador, Honduras and Mexico witness huge levels of violence as a result of the ongoing US-led ‘war on drugs’.

Overton also pointed out that many Central American cartel members have their guns made to order north of the border in the United States.

Great night at the @frontlineclub w/ @iainoverton & @andrewfeinstein on people’s relationships people with guns – pic.twitter.com/f1UyB2iwwW”

— Jenny Marc (@JennyLMarc) April 22, 2015

In many instances of violence globally, the presence of a gun has become an assumption, rather than a newsworthy element of the story. “The gun has just become a background noise in violence.”

Overton went on to highlight the transformative power of the gun. There is a “very physical transformation that occurs in a man when he picks up a gun.” Being in possession of a gun emboldens people to the point of recklessness, he added.

“It transforms power, it transforms situations. And for the people who are in the midst of despair, it doesn’t take a lot to pick up a gun and end your life.”

“I don’t think the book is anti-gun,” concluded Overton, as the discussion drew to a close. “If someone has their life dictated by going out hunting at the weekend, they see the gun as purely a tool to take down a deer.”

There are 12 billion bullets produced every year – almost two bullets for every person on the planet. Guns kill as many as 500,000 people every year. Tearing lives apart, they impact not only the dead, the wounded, the suicidal and the mourning, but have far-reaching effects on society and communities.

In a hard-hitting exploration, award-winning investigative journalist Iain Overton journeyed to over 25 countries, from South Africa to Iceland, Honduras to Cambodia, to try and understand the true impact of gun crime.

From porn starlets who appear as snipers in XXX films, Zionist anti-terror gun trainers, El Salvadoran gangland killers and South African doctors soaked in the blood of gunshot victims, Overton tells the harrowing and sobering stories of lives directly affected by guns.

Iain Overton will be joining us in conversation with writer and author of The Shadow World: Inside the Global Arms Trade, Andrew Feinstein, to discuss what he has learnt about the impact of gun crime, the relationships we have with guns and the place they occupy in every day life.

Iain Overton is Director of Investigations at the London-based charity Action on Armed Violence and an investigative journalist who has worked in over eighty countries around the world. Reporting from the killing zones of Colombia, Iraq and Somalia, he has made films for the BBC, ITN and Al Jazeera, as well as working with The Guardian, The Independent and The Sunday Times. He was founding editor of the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and is author of Gun Baby Gun.

Whether researching human rights abuses in a civil war, or exposing human trafficking in the sex trade, this one-day workshop will introduce you to the life of investigative reporting.

Whether you already have experience in the field, are looking to start out, or simply have a critical mind, this workshop will equip you with the knowledge you need. Overall, this session will give you the tools to help set up an investigation; from filing a Freedom of Information request to being aware of ethical implications of undercover reporting. Importantly, it will also help you tell the stories that matter, and teach you how to have one of the most interesting jobs in the world and how to survive doing it.

The workshop will be led by award-winning investigative journalist Iain Overton. Overton has conducted investigations in areas that include counterfeiting in the pharmaceutical industry, UK deaths in custody, corporate killings in Iraq, and Glasgow gang-land murders linked to security contracts. His work has been recognised with a Peabody Award, two Amnesty International Awards, a OneWorld Award, a Prix Circom, a BAFTA Scotland and 3 RTS nominations, amongst others.

Overton is currently the Director of Investigations at the international organisation Action on Armed Violence and is writing a book for Canongate about the impact of guns worldwide.

What we will cover:

1. How to survive as a human rights investigative reporter.
2. Exposés and undercover reporting: ethics and practical considerations
3. Tools of the human rights investigative trade: from FOI submissions to data journalism
4. Making an impact: how to secure commissions, media collaborations and fund self-publishing
5. Storytelling: how to tell your story so that it matters.

On Wednesday 22 April, Iain Overton will be at the Frontline Club to discuss his new book Gun Baby Gun, which looks at the far-reaching impact and the terrible realities of war and gun crime. To find out more and to book online, click here.

Images: Churikov Eduard / Shutterstock.com; Iain Overton

Whether researching human rights abuses in a civil war, or exposing human trafficking in the sex trade, this one-day workshop will introduce you to the life of investigative reporting.

Whether you already have experience in the field, are looking to start out, or simply have a critical mind, this workshop will equip you with the knowledge you need. Overall, this session will give you the tools to help set up an investigation; from filing a Freedom of Information request to being aware of ethical implications of undercover reporting. Importantly, it will also help you tell the stories that matter, and teach you how to have one of the most interesting jobs in the world and how to survive doing it.

The workshop will be led by award-winning investigative journalist Iain Overton. Overton has conducted investigations in areas that include counterfeiting in the pharmaceutical industry, UK deaths in custody, corporate killings in Iraq, and Glasgow gang-land murders linked to security contracts. His work has been recognised with a Peabody Award, two Amnesty International Awards, a OneWorld Award, a Prix Circom, a BAFTA Scotland and 3 RTS nominations, amongst others.

Overton is currently the Director of Investigations at the international organisation Action on Armed Violence and is writing a book for Canongate about the impact of guns worldwide.

What we will cover:

1. How to survive as a human rights investigative reporter.
2. Exposés and undercover reporting: ethics and practical considerations
3. Tools of the human rights investigative trade: from FOI submissions to data journalism
4. Making an impact: how to secure commissions, media collaborations and fund self-publishing
5. Storytelling: how to tell your story so that it matters.

Images: Churikov Eduard / Shutterstock.com; Iain Overton