Jean
Rafferty's
Journalism
A Journalist of Rare Range
Jean Rafferty has been called one of the UK's top feature writers — 'a stylist.' No matter how trivial the subject matter, she engages totally with her subject. Topics have ranged from a karate-teaching nun and a weekend away with a rugby club to a dog psychologist and the death of a friend.
Rafferty's lightness of touch brought her many humorous commissions at the start of her career, but a powerful social conscience impelled her to explore darker territory: Satanic ritual abuse, suicide, torture and prostitution have all been the subjects of major pieces. She is not afraid of controversial or unfashionable subjects, and approaches them with unflinching honesty.
Awards & Recognition
British Press Awards - In 2007, Jean Rafferty was shortlisted in the British Press Awards — one of only two freelance journalists nominated that year — for her article in The Independent on the death of a friend and the impact of death on the baby boomer generation.
She was also shortlisted for Feature Writer of the Year in the 1997 British Press Awards for her work on ritual abuse and rape.
Rosemary Goodchild Award - Jean won the 2005 Rosemary Goodchild Award for her 'gutsy and clever' article on abortion, published in the Sunday Herald.
Norwich Union Medical Journalism Awards - Her prize-winning article on the feeding of elderly patients in NHS hospitals drew this citation from the judges: 'This was beautifully written, and a powerful piece. It exposed a topic that is often brushed under the carpet and the people who run hospitals need to sit up and take notice of an article like this.'
She was also shortlisted in the 2005 Norwich Union Medical Journalism Awards for her Sunday Herald piece on Kylie Minogue's breast cancer.
Joseph Rowntree Foundation Fellowship Winner - In 2003, Jean was awarded a Joseph Rowntree Foundation journalist's fellowship for her work on prostitution — one of the UK's most prestigious journalism fellowships. The award funded research trips to several European countries to examine different approaches to regulating the sex industry.
Travelex Travel Writing Awards - Jean won the National Daily Category in the 1999 Travelex Travel Writing Awards for what the judges called an 'inspired piece' on Buenos Aires.
Sample Articles
Read two of Rafferty's many articles on the following pages:
Prostitution in Glasgow — an abridged version of her article that appeared in Guardian Weekend during Glasgow's notorious run of prostitute murders in the 1990s.
Caring for the Elderly — her prize-winning entry to the Norwich Union Medical Journalism Awards, originally published in the Sunday Herald.
Her article on the environment can also be read in the Dundee Courier: How did waste become our way of life?