Former BBC journalism trainer joins investigative journalism school

Freelancer and former BBC journalism trainer Murray Dick will join the Centre for Investigative Journalism (CIJ) in January.

Dick, who was responsible for training BBC journalists and production staff in online research techniques, will develop the CIJ's computer-assisted reporting (CAR) training courses, he told Journalism.co.uk.

He will also expand the school's social media presence and website, and undertake a number of online projects, including an archive of significant European investigations across all media, he added.

Dick, who was previously a financial researcher and has an MSc in Information Science, will work part-time in his new role and continue with freelance CAR and online journalism projects, as well as consultancy work for media organisations, NGOs and journalism schools.

Speaking to Journalism.co.uk about his appointment, Dick said that investigative journalists face significant challenges posed by new communication and search technology and legal changes.

"The first challenge is to ascertain what information is out there, and how it can be obtained," he said.

Journalists with good online research skills will be more efficient and help the organisations they work for save money by avoiding duplication and wasted research time, he said.

The second challenge journalists then face is making sense of the information they find, which requires new skills in handling data – a particular issue for many journalists from a humanities background, added Dick.

"Once a story has been developed, the third challenge is to tell that story in a compelling way," he said.

"Traditional print and broadcast narratives will always be needed, but the web now provides a range of means by which a story can be told interactively.

"An ever-growing range of mash-up technologies at journalists' fingertips can breathe life into a story. These technologies also open up a dialogue whereby journalists can reach out to new audiences and can also feed back into finding new contacts and new leads for further investigation."

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