In his early 20s, James Badcock left his home in England to teach English at private language schools in Madrid. However, he decided to switch careers and become a journalist in Spain, working as a freelancer for publications like The Telegraph and BBC News.
More than 20 years have passed and Badcock remains an expat journalist in Spain. Three years ago, he experienced a bit of fame with the uncovering of a secret inheritance in King Juan Carlos’ line. He admits to enjoying the investigative work of historical matters.
He also focuses on immigration and women’s rights, particularly proud of a recent story about an Afghan woman who won refugee status in Germany due to his BBC piece. work as a journalist.
Badcock proudly indulges in offbeat humor with his Twitter signature noting he “count his chickens” and quotes a line from the heavy metal group Spinal Tap: “It's such a fine line between stupid and clever.”
Photo courtesy of James Badcock
Journalists can wield a significant impact on people’s lives. How do you make sure you use this power in the right way?
We have to ask ourselves: is it in the public interest? Is there really a right to know this information? The difficult thing is turning down requests from news desks for material that may be newsy but is not ethically justifiable. Once I was asked to try to interview a man who had abused a female celebrity who had been his partner. I excused myself. What interest could be served by this person having a loudspeaker?
What emotions come up when you’re interviewing a victim in a story?
When it’s not about public figures, I feel fear and a sense of respect. Last week, I interviewed an Iranian woman who moved to Spain in exile because she was without her headscarf. It was really difficult because she just shared everything with me about the situation; what they’re told in Iran, the name of the minister – she even had to have conversations with officials – but you can't write all that. She was really leaving the story with me. You don’t want to write something that would get anybody in trouble.
How do you decide what to include, and what not to include, in a piece like that?
In this case, I absorbed all of the information and then thought how I could write it out without putting statements that could result in Khadem being persecuted or her family suffering reprisals. I decided to check with her that she was happy with the final result in terms of direct quotes, and information revealed. She was. That was important to me, especially as she was under no moral obligation to speak to the media; she is not a politician or a public official.pl
How has the King Juan Carlos article changed things for you as a journalist?
I learned that I could stay calm and trust in my professional capacities when under pressure from the import of the story. I also learned that that is what counts; working well and honestly. The sense of success soon faded. But I gained a more cherished sense of pride in being a journalist.
How did you access such powerful information about King Juan Carlos’s inheritance?
Good sources and luck. Being in the right place at the right time. What I do take satisfaction from is having managed to check and render the information adequately and not bungling the story by making mistakes.pl
Did you know what was going to happen, the king leaving the country and going under investigation, when you wrote that story?
No. Spain’s Royal Household, like other royal families, is quite reticent about making public statements, so I did not expect the reaction from King Felipe. His statement was explosive, and after that, it was soon clear that Juan Carlos had lost prestige and would no longer be protected by Spanish institutions in the same way as previously.
What advice do you have for young journalists?
I think specialization and possibly working in brackets where technology exists. Not everyone has to be an email hacker or anti-corruption journalist. You have to think of a way to make your information available in an attractive and interesting way.
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