As part of our focus on careers today we are going to look into the world of journalism and speak to a successful writer who has been covering the news for a long period of time. That’s right if you are a budding journalist then this is a piece for you so read on as we chat to the wonderfulJonathan Levin Philadelphia journalist and legal writer, who has had an illustrious career. Jonathan talks with us today about exactly why he loves his job so much, something which may serve as some inspiration for you.

Writing

As Jonathan openly admits he has always been a serial writer since he was a young age so being able to do so for a living is like manna from heaven. Jonathan says that he has never become sick of writing and even if he has been on the computer all day, he will still always add a diary entry at the end of the day.

The Truth

Jonathan says that the are of journalism which he enjoys the most is not the writing but rather the investigation work which he does before he writes a story. Whenever there is an allegation or a potential expose, this is when Jonathan says that he does his best work and that he loves trying to get to the heart of a story. Jonathan has scruples an d he says that he will only ever write a story if he knows all of the facts, rather than simply writing something with the sole purpose of being sensational.

Responsibility

Jonathan considers it his responsibility to the public to do his job well and believes that journalists are the perfect balance between the public and the state. The public want to know what happens with the funds that are raised and how they are spent, they want to know that politicians, lawyers and public servants are doing what they get paid for and it is the responsibility of journalists like Jonathan to uphold their side of the deal and report the good and the bad. This Jonathan tells me is the best part of his job and it is what ensures that he wakes up each morning and cannot wait to get into the office.

The Funny Side

Because Jonathan works across most topics within the newspaper he tells me that as much as he enjoys reporting on the high level stuff, he also enjoys the silly stories which come about from time to time. Jonathan says that in reality he has always had a love of all things weird and confesses that during his school years he was in the group of misfits. This is why Jonathan loves the quirky stories and says that when he has some spare time in the office, this is what he likes to do.