Investigative Research and Journalism
I have worked on investigations for the Guardian, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, consumer champion Which?, campaign group Privacy International and legal charity Reprieve.
My investigation for the Guardian into a child sexual abuse-cover up helped unseat a US district attorney.
As senior researcher/writer at Which?, I investigated fraud, scams and data privacy. My undercover investigation into the list-broking trade exposed how scammers could buy people’s personal and financial details for as little as 4p a record. It led to a formal wide-ranging investigation by the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Other print and online journalism
I have written for The Guardian, The New York Times, The Daily Beast, The Atlantic Cities, openDemocracy, The London Evening Standard, The Times, The Telegraph, Wallpaper and The Architectural Review.
I was the regular US columnist for The Times Educational Supplement.
I worked freelance on The Times arts and entertainments site, writing news and features and providing site editing cover.
Radio production
I have produced a number of documentaries for BBC Radio including Antony Gormley: Missing continents at the British Museum for BBC Radio 4 with Cast Iron Productions, Suzanne Vega: The Movie that Changed My Life and Mel Smith: The Novel that Changed My Life both for BBC Radio 2 with Just Radio. I have also assisted on productions by Whistledown and FreeWheel Productions for BBC Radio 4 and BBC World Service.
Teaching
I taught a thesis class on writing skills at the New York Institute of Technology.
2004-2008 Building Design, London
As Features Editor (2004-2007) I introduced fresh formats, ran my second award-shortlisted campaign and launched an alternative architecture prize, the Carbuncle Cup.
As Online Editor (2007-2008) I launched bdonline, creating the strongest, most popular site in a fiercely competitive sector. I introduced video content which I produced and presented. Bdonline was shortlisted for best business website in the 2007 (UK) Association of Online Publishers awards, competing against such established sites as ZDNet and Brand Republic.
“The best source of news on all things built and building is bdonline which… isn’t afraid to throw brickbats at those in senior positions.” The Times, 2007
2001-2004 The Architects’ Journal, London
I was promoted to news editor, six months after joining The Architects’ Journal as a reporter. I revamped the news section, won a successful campaign to halt a change in national planning policy that was shortlisted for Campaign of the Year by the Periodical Publishers Association, and regularly broke exclusives later picked up by the national press.
“An impressive news journalist,…Zoë impressed the judges with the impact she has made on her magazine in such a short space of time.” Periodicals Training Council awards judges, 2003
1996-2000 Film and Television, London
My research and production credits include Channel 4 Dispatches, BBC Documentaries, and Roger Graef’s Films of Record. The programmes I worked on covered topics as diverse as dieting, submariners and the National Health Service.
1993-1994 Rights and Humanity, London and Geneva
After graduating I spent a year with Rights and Humanity, a charity championing economic, social and cultural rights. I coordinated the Human Rights Development Forum which pushed for a human rights approach to development. Members included Oxfam, Amnesty International and Action Aid.
Education
I have a Post Graduate Diploma in journalism from London College of Printing (now London College of Communications), a Masters degree in Social Anthropology from University College London, and a BA Hons in American and Spanish American Studies from Manchester University. I went to King Alfred’s, a progressive independent school in North London, where I took maths, physics and history A’levels.