Corinne Redfern, an award-winning British journalist, visited The Mountaineer staff on Friday afternoon, Nov. 17th. Though it was early afternoon for us here in Pennsylvania, Redfern was joining us from her home in Italy where the time is six hours ahead. As Redfern spoke to us about her 10-year career as a freelance writer for human rights, she paused for a moment to turn on some interior lights. As the sun set, we were reminded of the time difference as the lighting faded for our virtual visit.
Redfern admitted that she reads as much as she can get her hands on from local to global news. She has a diverse reading collection including academic journals and non-governmental organizations (NGO) reports and advises young journalists to “Read everything”. Because she is internationally established, she can pitch her ideas to any publication she wants– one of the perks of being an independent freelance journalist.
Redfern’s specialty is finding the under-reported story. She advised the best way to find a story is “by being present”. One of her award-winning stories was prompted by her many trips to Southeast Asia, where she was based for several years. There, she began an investigation into child marriages and human trafficking in Bangladesh. In 2019, she was awarded the Amnesty Media Award for Features based on her coverage of the injustices happening there.
Redfern continues to investigate and expose the exploitation of women and children, sexual violence, and human rights in the U.K. and Asia. Redfern wants to sound an alarm for readers, in hopes of bringing a positive change. Read more about Redfern’s involvement in the Fuller Project here.
You can check out more of Redfern’s gripping exposés on the Pulitzer Center website.
Redfern revealed, “
“It’s not just an emotional story but a call to action, awareness, and education”.
— Redfern
.sno-pullquote-656f50ec7e44d { display: flex; float: left; margin: 30px 30px 30px 0; width: 50%; border-color: #888888; border-top-width: 5px; border-right-width: 5px; border-bottom-width: 5px; border-left-width: 5px; background-color: #dddddd; } .sno-pullquote-656f50ec7e44d p.pullquotetext, .sno-pullquote-656f50ec7e44d p.quotespeaker { color: #000000;; } .sno-pullquote-656f50ec7e44d .pullquotepic { width: 33%; margin-left: 25px; } .sno-pullquote-656f50ec7e44d p.pullquotetext { font-size: 22px; line-height: 1.4em; } .sno-pullquote-656f50ec7e44d .quotebar { background: #dddddd; flex: 0 0 90px; margin-top: -15px; margin-left: -15px; padding-left: 15px; padding-top: 15px; margin-right: 15px; } .sno-pullquote-656f50ec7e44d .largequote { color: #870e0e; } .sno-pullquote-656f50ec7e44d .quotebody { width: unset; }Redfern contributes to prominent U.S. outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, Time Magazine, The Guardian, and many more publications both domestic and international. Today, Redfern was working with the Pulitzer Center which was founded in 2006 as a network for thousands of journalists from around the world.
According to Pulitzercenter.org, their mission is “to be the venue for the world’s most innovative and consequential reporting, with journalism as the key element for mobilizing society through audience engagement strategies”.
As a journalism class and novice writers, we were fortunate that Redfern, an international award-winning journalist, made time to speak to us about the importance of journalism; it’s far more than just telling a story. Journalism doesn’t just deliver the news but hopefully enlightens the reader to think and act differently–in a more informed and educated way.