Last Friday, Oliver Ames Students in the Journalism class were able to have a discussion with a Pulitzer Prize finalist and daily columnist of the Wall Street Journal A HED section. Jenifer Levitz, who currently resides in Easton, has spent 10 years with the New York times while covering stories such as the Parkland school shooting, voters in New England during the midterms, and Whitey Bulger’s Trial.
“I always have three stories I’m working on at once,” said Levity, “I’m always trying to keep up with what other newspapers are following too.”
One of her most famous pieces that appears daily is the A HED, a column based on witty facts about seemingly whimsical topics.
“I once went to the world’s largest truck stop…to cover truckers who are quilting…At first I thought that it would be so boring…I realized that it can be the most minor or silly thing that people are going to read…I loved covering it.”
When it comes to representing the press in this time period, life can sometimes be harsh. After President Trump took a CNN reporter’s credits away two weeks ago, many journalists felt as though that the right of the American people to print and publish their opinion was being threatened.
“It’s pretty major to take someone’s access away,” said Levity, “Its disturbing….It’s such an odd tension but ‘enemy of the people’ is new, at least in this country.”
Besides the sometimes nasty emails and calls she receives by being a reporter, Levity finds most of the time she follows her passion with a true calling.
“It’s definitely something you have to be willing to put up with,” she said with a laugh, “It’s a calling. We can all step back sometimes and everything doesn’t have to be so serious.”