Biography
I am Associate Professor in in Journalism in the SACI and an international award winning investigative journalist.
Education:
I took my undergraduate & postgraduate degrees at University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, where I was a Lecturer in Journalism & Prog. Director of MSc in Investigative Journalism 2002-16.
Professional Work:
I have researched, produced, directed & presented investigative productions for STV, Channel 4, BBC, Discovery, National Geographic & The Crime & Investigation Network.
My work has focused on crime, intelligence, terrorism & miscarriage of justice cases. My work on the latter category includes 13 years I spent investigating the Robert Brown case which ended with a 25-yr wrongful murder conviction being overturned by Court of Appeal, London, in November 2002.
My journalism has been honoured in national & international awards including: The Paul Foot Award; The British Press Awards; the Scottish BT Media Awards; and The British Film & Television Academy. I was the first British journalist to be awarded an American IRE (Investigative Reporters and Editors) honour in the Special Award category for my lifetime’s investigative work on miscarriages of justice.
I have also been awarded certificates in the annual Teaching Excellence Awards, following nominations by his students for 7 years in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019.
I founded Scotland’s first Innocence Project at University of Strathclyde in 2007-8 & Chaired national INUK conferences.
In July 2012, I joined the Council of JUSTICE Scotland. In April 2013 I also gave expert evidence to the Scottish Parliament and The House of Lords on Investigative Journalism.
I have chaired international conferences regularly for the International Network of Street Papers (INSP) which publishes the UK's 'Big Issue'.
Recently, I have investigated & presented investigations for BBC Radio Scotland. In May 2013 I presented a landmark 1hr BBC Radio 4 production ' Heroes and Hacks' on Watergate's 40th anniversary.
I regularly review the media on BBC Radio Scotland and contribute to various productions. I also collaborate with independent production companies, including Matchlight, who have optioned one of my Esquire magazine investigations for a feature film in collaboration with Creative Scotland.
In January 2020 I was awarded a JFK Library and Foundation Hemingway research Grant to conduct archival research in Boston examining the Hemingway Collection in pursuit of a new book on the author's output and life.