Getting A Job As An Undercover Reporter

What advice would you give to someone who wants to become an undercover reporter?

It's not something you can go to a school and learn. The trade craft that you need to pick up, you can be taught by the so-called experts who are out there in the system at the moment. Or, if you're an ex-military person who's been involved in that role before, you'll tend to find that you can move within the circles outside of the military - ex-police, or anything like that, but there's no actual course that you can go on. There aren't courses offered in the private sector, but my advice would be to try and get yourself along to an investigative company and try and work with a so-called expert to pick up the skills from him. The best way to learn the job is on the job training.

Is being an undercover reporter something anyone can do?

It depends on the makeup of the person. You've got to be quite ballsy to do it, and you've got to be able to put yourself in the line of fire. You've got to be able to get in amongst it. You've got to be able to live a lie, and you've got to be very confident. If you've got those sort of skills, why not?

What skills do I need in order to be an undercover reporter?

I suppose you need to be very confident, and at times a good liar. You also need to be fairly technical with the equipment that's around today. I think you need to sort of be really inquisitive, and very nosy. You've got to be able to put yourself out and about.

What personality traits are useful as an undercover reporter?

I suppose you've got to be really... one, a very confidant person. A very chatty person. Somebody who can keep the conversation rolling when things sort of dry up a little bit. Because at times when you're sitting talking to your subject or your target, you know you do get slightly tongued tied. So you need to be able to keep the conversation rolling. And I suppose you've got to be sort of a friendly guy as well. You know you can't be very standoffish. Standoffish is not a trait that you need. You need to be able to get in and get involved in it really.

Do you need to be able to act to be an undercover reporter?

Yes, you do. It's part and parcel of the job. You're acting a role to entice somebody else. So you need to be able to be a little bit of an actor. You don't need to be a Richard Burton or anything, but you need to be able to sort of play the role.

Do I need to be brave?

Not all of the time, but when the situation starts to get a little bit sticky then you've got to be out to make the decision. Do I continue on with this or do I pull out because things are starting to go wrong? It's the decision about whether I am brave enough to stay or whether I pull out. You do need to be slightly brave.

Do I need to be able to defend myself?

Yes, you do, but you don't need to be a karate or a kung fu expert. As long as you've got some sort of self defense skills or you know how to extract yourself from a crowd of people, that's all you need to know.