Hi Everybody,
I work at You & Yours at BBC Radio 4. I'm currently researching a piece about the rise of Essay Writing Services in the UK and would be really keen to hear from the people on this forum. I wan't to know your thoughts about the industry, why you are involved and if you think that it has helped you. I'm interested in talking to either users of essay writing services and experienced freelance writers. All contact with me will be totally confidential (you will be a journalistic source) and if anybody was happy to be interviewed it could be completely anonymous. I would be really keen to hear an insiders perspective on the industry and look forwards to hearing from you. You can get in touch with me at: will.nyerereplastow [at] bbc.co.uk
All best
Will
I'll do it but I don't want to be anonymous and you have to spell my name right.
I'd be very interested to hear more from you and if you wouldn't want to be anonymous that is always fine with me. And I can guarantee that we would spell your name right on anything we would put out regarding the story if you tell me the correct spelling.
I sent you an email through the EssayScam contact feature. If you didn't receive it, you can find my email address in my ad on EssayChat.com (it's near the top).
I'd watch for people who pretend to be customers (some shady companies from the UK have a 'marketing' team that create their own, fake reputation by posting inaccurate / fabricated information on their flashy websites and publishing fake press-releases and related information to the public). I imagine you'll be contacted by a 'student' (working directly or indirectly with an academic research service) whose only goal will be to mention the company's name he used to work with - in general, if you are going to mention the name of the service, expect a shady marketing team playing with you (their only goal is publicity of their company name).
If you want to know the real state of the industry, the most accurate approach would be to research this forum and/or ask questions publicly; otherwise, you will get a flawed and manipulated view.
Right. No hidden agendas or undisclosed affiliations on this forum *eye roll*
I suspect Mister Will knows how to do his job.
It's funny to see a pawn trying to suck up to a smarter individual in the hopes of getting their approval. I say again, ask questions, let's debate them and leave the final decision up to the reporter.
Then stop sucking up to me.
But you're right. This is probably Will's first story, and he's probably never encountered shysters in the course of his reporting before. We should tell him how to do his job.
The topic sentence is obvious - 'students use academic paper services and the education system is broken.' There have been dozens of publications on that and all reporters made the same mistake - they wrongly assumed they were 'interviewing' legitimate/organic students or freelance writers when in fact they were played by professional marketers; I'm just trying to help make something more original, more insightful, and truthful. It'd be easy to approve or disapprove comments made by any student or freelance writer here, but most reporters are afraid to face the truth; they prefer to pretend they found a 'genuine' person without validating their statements (because only then it is possible for them to prove the validity of their own agenda).
when in fact they were played by professional marketers
Evidence?
A certain UK company has been shamelessly wh(ring itself out to reporters for many years in order to be able to claim that it has been "featured" by certain media outlets.
The reporter told me he used to work in this industry himself when he was in college so I expect a balanced report.
Are you a UK student who has used an essay writing service?
I'm looking to speak to students in the UK who've used essay writing services for their university assignments. As part of some research for the BBC, I want to speak to them about their reasons behind it and their experience. Students can speak to me in complete confidence - anonymously if they wish. Text/call 07731 338820.
I'd be very surprised if any students (especially in the UK) took up this offer, even with the promise of anonymity.
I also agree that this is insane. It's idealistic to presume that people would want their identities disclosed in this career path (or students). Even the slightest chance of getting caught is quite risky, especially with all the controversies that have arose nowadays due to the business.
Legitimate writers and researchers from multimedia companies do not usually come to a forum to seek out information or sources. That is a very amateur move. Whoever the OP was, the one thing he wasn't was a reporter for the BBC. A BBC writer would have access to sources without having to come to ES for interview subjects. This person was most likely not who he claimed to be. I just hope no students or writers fell for the scam. That's how people get into dangerous situations. It is always better never to try to be a source of information for anybody. Keep your head low and try not be obvious. Protect yourself and don't deal with people who post messages like this on public forums.
Actually, I think the OP is more likely to be a legitimate freelance writer who just stumbled onto this forum while researching the topic and figured he might as well try to get an interview with a writer. The name he used seems to be a real person who's done a lot of work for (and received some professional training from) the BBC, and who has an online writing presence; and the email format he provided seems to match the BBC system, at least at first glance. I didn't invest any time to peel back the top layer of information to dig any deeper, but a cursory search, at least, seems to suggest that he was legit.
