Bureau internship awarded

Congratulations to Maeve McClenaghan, who has won a three-month internship at the Bureau.

The award was granted after McClenaghan won the Bureau’s young journalist competition, which asked entrants to submit a 1,000-word piece based on an investigation they had conducted.

The competition received a large number of entrants, many of an extremely high standard and covering an incredible range of subjects.

The winner, chosen by a team of senior Bureau staff, wrote about a failing of DFID to properly recognise the impact of little-known tropical diseases that blight as many lives as better known illnesses such as HIV and malaria. The piece assessed the impact of these ‘neglected tropical diseases’ and compared this to the amount of aid given for the treatment of such diseases.

The piece was well researched, engaging and news-worthy. As well as being well written, it covered an interesting topic and showed a well-rounded use of many journalistic as well as investigative skills.

The Bureau also commended work by two other entrants Patrick Smith, who wrote an elegant piece about oppression in Iraqi Kurdistan and Sorana Stanescu, who wrote about the exploitation of Romanian and Bulgarian builders by the British building trade.

Iain Overton, managing editor of the Bureau said: ‘I was impressed with the high standard of many of the entries to our competition. It showed that there is still much hope for the next generation of investigative journalists.

‘It was hard to chose a single investigation, but Maeve McClenaghan’s was a complete package – a well written, well sourced and interesting investigation. She is a well-deserved winner, and I look forward to her joining the Bureau.’

To read the Bureau’s winning entry by Maeve McClenaghan click here.