Jill Leovy

Jill Leovy is a reporter for the "Los Angeles Times". In January of 2007, Leovy created The Homicide Report, a blog chronicling all of the deaths in Los Angeles, California.

Leovy realized that major newspapers only report on a minimal number of homicides. Only 10% of the stories are featured. She made a commitment to report on each and every single murder in her blog. Leovy began The Homicide Report with just 17 names that she received from the local coroner's office. A year later, her blog had reported on 845 murders.

Fast Facts

1. Blog: Los Angles Times website
2. Some families find solace in seeing their loved one featured in the blog
3. Ruben Vives also contributes to The Homicide Report

Quote

I'm very happy being a crime reporter. It's something that I came to a little later in my career, and I find it to be, of all the beats I've covered, that this is the big one. This is really what makes or breaks you. To write about violence in a way that's truthful is absolutely to be up against it. In fact, at homicide scenes, people will always say this, they'll say, "I don't have words to describe this, I can't put it into words." And there is something so silencing about trauma and violence. It's almost as if part of the nature of it is to obliterate words and language and make it impossible to convey. - Jill Leovy

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