Koby Levin

NEW: an investigation nearly two years in the making. At least two dozen schools in Michigan serve students with severe behavioral disabilities. A Free Press analysis of nearly 8,000 emergency dispatch records show these schools are leaning on police. freep.com/story/news/edu…

Our TXT OUTLIER system is working! This story by @levin_koby came from a conversation within our SMS system that has yielded tangible results for Ms. Tamika Clark. Read the story and check out TXT Outlier by texting "Detroit" to 67485. @media_outlier outliermedia.org/american-water…

The latest in our continued reporting on chronic absenteeism, from @TheNomadicHeart.

@e_catolico Ty friendddd 😅🥹.

I was so moved by the thoughtfulness and care @levin_koby paid in this long-form story chronicling the brutal toll of sickle cell on a family. A family of warriors. It's a stunning achievement and worth your time. Proud of you, friend. outliermedia.org/sickle-cell-di…

“He was cured. He was terrified.” My latest: Six years symptom-free and still reckoning with the emotional toll of sickle cell disease. outliermedia.org/sickle-cell-di… @media_outlier @SCDAAorg @SickleCellMI

A new investigation from us and @themarkup out today shows how 2019 auto insurance reforms did little to stop insurers from using where people live to set rates. outliermedia.org/detroit-car-in…

I am a very serious journalist and I'm told birds are real. That said, humbly submitted @birdsarentreal outliermedia.org/birds-dropping…

Today there are zero @kroger stores in Detroit. Guess how many Kroger stores were in Detroit in 1928 (pop. 1.4m)? Would you believe me if I told you the number was about 600 Kroger stores? Its true. I mapped them out. @detroitography google.com/maps/d/u/0/edi…

Antoine Bryant gushed about a series of murals to promote the NFL draft. One month later, he apologized for the project. How did Bryant go from thrilled to chastened? Emails obtained with @BridgeDet313 through public records requests tell the story: outliermedia.org/detroit-mural-…

The Morouns now own 160 parcels out of 215 in one Detroit neighborhood that used to be all residential. In 2022, they illegally built a concrete plant across from residents. My latest 👇 bridgedetroit.com/moroun-owned-d…

I love Outlier — not only did they dig into what bad sidewalks mean for Detroiters, but they also provided a guide on how to report your own bad sidewalk that I'm using myself and sending to my neighbors. This is good community journalism!

My latest project, *now out from behind paywall,* finds 1/3 ppl shot and wounded by Detroit cops were either not charged or convicted of conduct for which they were shot. Most were unarmed or shot in back while fleeing. Key police vid missing 1/2 the time freep.com/story/news/inv…

Streaming from Italy: the lowdown on @DetDocumenters

Okay, this might not be the transit enhancement Downtown Detroit needs but it is genuinely really pretty (Photo credit Junfu Han, Freep)

Chefs, home cooks, and restaurateurs are striving for a better tortilla by tapping into 3,000-plus years of tradition trib.al/kvfcweI

One more great idea from @media_outlier on the newsroom's 8th bday 🪩: Collaboration — with other newsrooms (fighting over the same story is so 90s amirite??) and especially with the Detroiters of @DetDocumenters, who are filling a massive accountability gap in this city.

So many great ideas helped @media_outlier get to its 8th bday 🎉 We are unapologetically local. That means we amplify Detroiters’ priorities. It means we expect our journalism to build trust and connection – an extremely high standard in this industry.

Here’s one: Journalism should fill information gaps. We start by asking what info Detroiters need and build our stories from there. It’s been cool to watch this idea spread to other newsrooms.

🎉🥳Eight years of @media_outlier = too many great stories to choose from. So let’s talk about the great ideas that drive this newsroom.