Charles Thomson (journalist)

Court Reporting

In 2013, Thomson live-tweeted the Jackson family’s wrongful death lawsuit against concert promoter AEG Live, in which they claimed the company should accept some responsibility for Michael Jackson’s death. His coverage was quoted by MailOnline.

Feature Writing

Thomson first won praise for his feature-writing shortly after graduating from university, when he was handed a ‘Special Commendation’ in the ‘Feature Writer of the Year’ category at the Guardian Student Media Awards 2009. The award was created in 2009 especially to acknowledge the strength of Thomson’s article, ‘James Brown: The Lost Album’, which pieced together the final recording sessions of the so-called ‘Godfather of Soul’. One competition judge later commented, “I thought it was the best piece of student journalism I’d read in a long time, if not ever.” The panel of judges also added, “The feature was an extraordinary, sustained piece on James Brown, a poignant portrait of a man in his last days.”

Shortly after winning the award, Thomson – aged 21 – became one of the youngest journalists ever to be given their own blog at the US Huffington Post, where he penned features about subjects including Michael Jackson, Hunter S Thompson and the execution of Troy Davis.

Thomson’s second Huffington Post article, ‘One of the Most Shameful Episodes in Journalistic History’, was published on the fifth anniversary of the verdicts in Michael Jackson’s 2005 child molestation trial (See: The Trial of Michael Jackson). The article compared trial transcripts to media reporting, arguing that journalists had deliberately skewed their reporting in favour of the prosecution. It was praised by Jackson’s defence lawyer Thomas Mesereau, who continues to refer journalists to the article when they contact him with trial queries. It has also been referenced in two Jackson biographies: Joe Vogel's ‘Man in the Music’ and Randall Sullivan’s ‘Untouchable’.

In addition to investigative features, Thomson specialises in in-depth interviews. His subjects have ranged from Jermaine Jackson to jailed peer Lord Hanningfield. Other interviewees have included Motown star Martha Reeves, gay rapper Cazwell, death row lawyer Clive Stafford-Smith and funk legend Bootsy Collins. Thomson’s series of interviews with Lord Hanningfield formed part of a portfolio of work which won him a ‘Highly Commended’ award in the ‘Newcomer of the Year’ category at the EDF Energy Regional Media Awards 2012. (See: Charles Thomson Awards)

Thomson has used a first person, ‘gonzo journalism’ approach to recount unusual interviews, perhaps most notably when his attempted interview with former TV presenter Michael Barrymore went awry. Thomson was told Barrymore had agreed to be interviewed but the star refused to cooperate upon Thomson’s arrival. He instead invited Thomson to sit in on a radio recording as an observer, but then turned the tables and started grilling him on-air. Thomson recounted the encounter in a first-person article which formed part of a portfolio that won him a ‘Highly Commended’ award in the ‘Newcomer of the Year’ category at the EDF Energy Regional Media Awards 2012. He also used a gonzo approach to describe an ‘unconventional’ interview with artist Ralph Steadman, and to recount ‘crazy’ backstage antics at Britain’s V Festival.

James Brown

In 2008, Thomson would interview Brown's former co-writer Fred Wesley for Wax Poetics magazine. During the interview Wesley spoke about working on Brown's final album in 2005. The interview inspired Thomson to research the album, spending several months interviewing more than a dozen people who were directly involved in the album's production. The resulting article, "James Brown: The Lost Album", was printed in Thomson’s self-published JIVE magazine, winning him a special commendation award in the feature writing category at the Guardian Student Media Awards in November 2009.

In October 2010, Tomi Rae Brown, widow of James Brown, awarded Thomson the most in-depth interview she had ever given to any reporter. In the article published by Sawf News, Brown spoke about her husband's 2004 arrest for domestic assault and how she nursed him through cancer in 2005. She also claimed that Brown's legs had been sawn off after his death to obtain DNA to prove her son's paternity. Thomson has also written about Brown for MOJO magazine and spoken about the singer on Los Angeles radio station KPFA-FM.

In February 2013 Thomson published an in-depth feature, titled ‘The Big Payback’, about Brown’s humanitarian work and his family’s efforts to carry it on after his death. Brown’s friend and producer, the gospel singer Derrick Monk, said the piece brought years to his eyes.

In an article published on the Huffington Post, Thomson was critical of James Brown biopic ‘Get on Up (film)’, which he said contained significant inaccuracies that were detrimental to Brown’s legacy. He also interviewed a selection of Brown’s former musicians for the Huffington Post, ahead of the HBO documentary ‘Mr Dynamite’, by Alex Gibney.

Michael Jackson

Throughout 2009 he contributed regularly to Britain's Sun newspaper as a Michael Jackson expert. His work for the Sun began in March 2009 when he received insider information on Jackson's imminent arrival in the UK to announce his "This Is It" concerts and helped the Sun to obtain exclusive pictures of Jackson disembarking his private jet, Thomson said he was contacted by a British tabloid to supply information about the 1993 sexual abuse allegations against Jackson, only to have them replace his carefully researched information with the common myths he advised them to avoid, and that the same misinformation was in every article he read about the 2009 suicide of Evan Chandler, the father of Jackson's accuser. He noted when Jackson's FBI file was released the following month, the contents were portrayed by the media as giving an impression of guilt even though the file strongly supported his innocence. He noted how Gene Simmons' allegations in 2010 about Jackson molesting children received over a hundred times more coverage than his interview with Jackson's long-time guitarist, Jennifer Batten, who rebutted Simmons' claims.

For celebrity news website Sawf News, Thomson has interviewed several of Jackson's former collaborators including tour guitarist Jennifer Batten, "This Is It" dancer Kriyss Grant, former manager Dieter Wiesner and publicist Stuart Backerman.

On the fifth anniversary of Jackson's acquittal on child abuse charges, Thomson posted an essay on his Huffington Post blog about the media's inaccurate reporting on the star's trial. Entitled "One of the Most Shameful Episodes in Journalistic History", the piece drew on trial transcripts and compared testimony in the case to inaccurate newspaper, magazine and TV reports about the proceedings. The piece was later incorporated into an anti-bullying curriculum on words and violence by the Voices Education Project. The article was praised by Jackson’s defence attorney Thomas Mesereau and has been cited in two Jackson biographies – Joe Vogel’s ‘Man in the Music’ and Randall Sullivan’s ‘Untouchable’.

In 2011 Thomson interviewed Michael Jackson’s brother Jermaine Jackson. During the interview Jermaine said of Thomson, “He knows more than I do!” Two years later, ahead of the Jacksons’ first performance in London for 40 years, Jermaine granted Thomson his only solo promotional interview.

Thomson has been critical of the Michael Jackson Estate, writing in two articles on the Huffington Post that releasing posthumous albums is a direct contradiction of Jackson’s beliefs and wishes, as stated in several interviews and writings during his lifetime.

Awards

In November 2009 Thomson won the Special Commendation Award in the feature writing category at the Guardian Student Media Awards. He was handed the award for his article "James Brown: The Lost Album" by The Guardian writer Hannah Pool and radio presenter Colin Murray at the ceremony in Camden's Proud Galleries, London.

The Special Commendation Award was created in 2009 especially to acknowledge the strength of Thomson's article, and one competition judge later commented: “I thought it was the best piece of student journalism I’d read in a long time, if not ever.” The panel of judges also added: “The feature was an extraordinary, sustained piece on James Brown, a poignant portrait of a man in his last days.”