For my good friend Jonathan Levin Philadelphia is his playground and he is one of the most well connected people that I know. Throughout his years as a journalist Levin has built relationships with a wide range of people from CEOs and governors to misfits and loan sharks, if there is anything to find out in this town, he is the man to do so. Over the years Jonathan has won awards for many an expose and he has always worked tirelessly to lift up the community here in Philadelphia. As his close friend many people ask me how he always gets the best scoops and whilst he of course will never reveal his sources, here is more or less how he goes about it.
Deeper
Many journalists get tipped off about a story and then they go to ask someone about whether it is true or not. Usually the journalist will dig in a little and then maybe run a vague piece about some suspicions which people have had. If this is the case for Jonathan however, things are very different and he will dig as deep as he possibly can in order to find out the truth about a story. I remember a while back that he spent around 2 weeks chasing leads on a state funds dispute and in the end it turned out to be nothing. Jonathan didn’t care that he had just wasted 2 weeks at all because he knew that it could’ve been something.
Writing
Jonathan is a serial writer and this is how he has often managed to build relationships which can later help him with stories. Jonathan gas contributed to many biographies and memoirs of senators or governors, mayors and other high profile men and women in the city. Whilst he of course gets paid for this work, it means that he is able to call on that person for a quote when the time comes around. Journalism is very much a career which relies on favors being done by you and for you.
Protection
Unlike with some local journalists when someone tells something to Jonathan, be it on the record or off the record, they know that he is a journalist with integrity who will keep his word. For him this is the same as attorney-client privilege and he will never betray a source.
No Printing
Finally the reason as to why he always gets the very best stories is because he waits until he has the full picture before delivering the story. Many journalists will get so far into a story and hit a wall, so they publish the piece as is, asking the public to make up their mind. With Jonathan Levin however he must wait until he has all of the necessary information in his hands before he even dares to make a judgement or present the story to the public.
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