Two years after we launched the site, we are proud to announce the latest aspiring journalists to be joining Wannabe Hacks. We have significantly expanded the team this time around, bringing in six new team members who will join Jonathan, Natalie and Tom in the day-to-day running of the site while Hannah and Jon will continue to balance working with Hacks with their current jobs.

We feel this expansion will allow us to cover all areas of journalism from online to broadcast, newspapers to magazines, and also provide a greater variety of content. We particularly hope to increase the number of audio and video posts on the site.

We are also excited by our new team of contributors who will be producing content for the site on a weekly basis.

Meet the new team…

Liam Corcoran

Hello, I’m Liam and I’m about to start my third year of a BA Journalism with Media and Cultural Studies degree at UWE. 

I’m currently the online editor for WesternEye, which is the fairly young student paper for UWE, and have a variety of experience in local, national and independent news. I’ve spent time at BBC Points West, SFX Magazine, The Spark, The Post (Bristol) and ITV Westcountry. In a few weeks I’m off to the Times and will be sharing that experience with you all.

Over the next 12 months, I’ll be looking at the cross roads journalism faces including the outcome of the Leveson Inquiry and the latest money-making ventures by the national press. For Wannabe Hacks, I’ll mostly be covering these issues, changes to ethics and regulation, and providing advice based on my experiences. Finally, I’ll be constructively criticising the very industry I seek to enter, hopefully raising some debate among you hacks.

Brianne O’Brien

Hi everyone! My name is Brianne and I’m about to start an MA in International Journalism at City University London. I’m a huge fan of National Public Radio and the form of storytelling their programming promotes. My work in radio so far has allowed me to peer into the lives and reality of a variety of people and places. I have explored stories from the arts to youth activism, from culture to community engagement and much more. I love the art of storytelling and enjoy the opportunity to help amplify the voices of others through my work.

My primary focus for Hacks will be on radio, but I also plan on contributing a variety of accompanying photojournalism pieces. I’ll be working alongside Jenni to continue the success of the Hack Report while also delivering audio features that focus on a variety of professional journalists across the media spectrum and their advice to all ‘Wannabe Hacks’. I look forward to bringing you engaging audio and photojournalism pieces that can help spark discussion on relevant issues happening throughout the streets of UK and beyond.

Jenni Graham

I’m Jenni and, together with Brianne, I’ll be working on a new section of relevant and varied audio content for the Wannabe Hacks website. Further to this, I’ll also be writing for the site on a regular basis. I will be focusing on the Hack Report and on creating a library of shorter podcasts over the course of the next year. Interviews, discussions and other coverage will be separated into manageable and digestible audio posts, much like the written posts on the site already are.

I’ll be studying on the Broadcast Journalism MA at City University London from September and hope to be able to apply what I learn to my work at Wannabe Hacks. I worked in student radio throughout my undergraduate degree and I am aware of how many aspiring broadcast journalists there are out there, both on and off university campuses.

I hope that a revamped audio section of the website will not only provide a new means of engaging with you but will also give aspiring broadcast journalists the opportunity to regularly contribute their work to Wannabe Hacks.

Natasha Clark

Hello, I’m Natasha and I’m in the final year of my History and Politics degree at Warwick University. I aim to go into current affairs or political journalism, but to be honest, I’m open to any opportunities that come my way.

I’m looking forwards to joining the Hacks to get in touch with other wannabes, and looking for ways to develop the site further. I mostly write about politics, my experience in journalism so far and what I’m learning in the media. For the hacks, I’ll be pondering over the trials and tribulations of work experience, the difficulties of balancing degree work with journalism pursuits and thinking about whether to do an MA, short-course or attempt to find work straight after my degree ends.

George Berridge

I’m George, a third-year Journalism student at the University of Winchester. I currently work as chief reporter for Winchester News Online, a student-run TV news bulletin. I’m really excited to be joining Wannabe Hacks and believe that, as well as giving some worthwhile advice and opinions, I can inspire some debate over the issues facing our industry.

I hope that I can improve the site by providing video content and writing about broadcast journalism. While the aim of working in video journalism is the same as it is for print or online, the tricks of the trade are vastly different. I aim to shed some light on working in video by providing tutorials and sharing my experiences (both good and bad!).

I aim to start a video news workshop (similar to the very successful CV workshop) where broadcast wannabes can send in their stories for other hacks to critique and learn from. I’ll also be writing about issues facing all aspects of our trade, from the ongoing News of the World scandal to the dangers of objectivity and the troubles that plague the world of student media.

Caroline Mortimer

My name is Caroline and I am recent graduate/would be freelancer. Having just left my History degree behind at the University of Birmingham, I am now trying to make money on my own writing about politics in order to study for a Masters in a years time before eventually (hopefully) being a top political correspondent/commentator.

I currently blog about the goings on at Westminster on my own blog and about feminism and young people for the Independent. I have also contributed to Guardian Careers and scored a front page byline whilst doing work experience at the Observer. Previously I’ve interned at places like Leeds Guide, the Birmingham Mail, the Edinburgh Evening News and the York Press.

I’m mainly looking forward writing a lot of advice/feature/comment pieces on what to do when you get it wrong and how to succeed as a journalist without necessarily ‘following the rules’. I hope to be living proof that anyone can make it as a journalist.

And here is the team of contributors…

Alice Bloch

I am a writer, broadcast journalist and budding producer. I got into journalism ‘proper’ while studying Social and Political Sciences at Cambridge University before studying East European Studies at UCL, travelling the breadth and depth of Bosnia to conduct my post-grad research, interviewing artists about their ‘post-war’ practice.

During that time, I also produced radio programmes for Resonance 104.4fm. In July 2012, I graduated from the PGDip in broadcasting at the LCC, with experience at various levels of UK radio and also in independent production. For Wannabe hacks, I will be delivering thought pieces, interviews, reviews and possibly some audio content as well.

Emanuelle Degli Esposti

As well as editing The Arab Review, an online journal covering arts and culture in the Arab world, I am also a freelance writer specialising in the Middle East. I have written for The Economist, the New Statesman, the Telegraph and the Sunday Express, among others, and I am currently studying for an MSc in Middle Eastern Politics at SOAS.

My contributions for Wannabe Hacks will focus on the media coverage (or lack thereof) of the Middle East – especially important given the events of the last 18 months – as well as exploring specialising as an aspiring journalist.

Phoebe Hurst

Finding out that I’ll be a regular contributor at Wannabe Hacks has come at a very busy and sometimes unpredictable time in my life. I’m in my final year of studying an English Literature and American Studies degree at the University of Manchester and during the next few months, I’ll have to decide whether studying journalism at a postgraduate level or attempting to find a job is the best route into the industry for me. I’m also trying to balance university work with internships, writing for the student newspaper.

It’s my dream to become a music journalist. I’ve written music reviews and features for my student newspaper, The Mancunian as well as local websites and magazines. This summer I’m completing an internship with VICE Magazine and have learnt a lot putting together a music-based publication already. I hope that some of my experiences and advice can be applied to other types of specialist journalism such as sport or fashion and provide encouragement for those not wanting to go into news reporting.

Nicole Froio

My name is Nicole and I am a journalism graduate from the University of Sheffield. I’ve done a few jobs as freelance content writer in the UK and some work experience at the Independent, The Week and some local Sheffield titles. I was hoping to get a job after graduation so I could stay in the country and play with you British journalists.

Unfortunately, after spending months and months sending CVs and cover letters to employers, my attempts to get a steady job to stay in the country have failed so I am very much familiar with the feeling that seems to be sweeping the journalism industry.
This means I have to go back to my original home, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It doesn’t seem like a huge sacrifice, but I have no journalistic contacts in Brazil which will certainly prove a challenge and hopefully provide some interesting content for Wannabe hacks.

I am very passionate about writing, reading, politics and news and I expect to be writing about these topics along with feminism in the press, journalism abroad and trying to make it as a journalist in another country.

Karrie Kahoe

Greetings all! I’m Karrie a burgeoning data journalist and an aspiring investigative journalist. I’ve only recently landed in London and am still trying to get my bearings and hoping to crack the industry. I’ve a background in historical research and technology journalism. I studied English and History before getting studying for two Masters, one in History the other Publishing.

Since I’ve landed in London I’ve been building my portfolio by freelancing for a couple of online news and magazine websites.
I have to confess that I’m an utter news geek and in recent times have developed a strong predilection towards data journalism. I also harbour a deep affection for investigative journalism.

My plan is to impart my growing knowledge of data journalism, write about trends in the industry and generally provide horrid details of my failings and tips on what works when trying to become a fully-fledged hack. Also as I’ve taken a slight detour into this profession I hope to offer some insights from a different yet slightly meandering perspective.