Jason Peters, KLN ‘17, will be the first to tell you that he does not care what others think of him. He’s never been a fan of playing by the rules, particularly when, he feels, traditional journalism outlets can become more entangled in their own brands than in journalistic integrity. With an experimental book of poetry, a podcast and countless bylines all over Philadelphia’s online news hubs, Peters has unapologetically taken his career into his own hands as a full-time freelancer. Now, he has even more ideas to keep his personal brand growing as he continues to make a name for himself in local media.

After transferring from East Stroudsburg University, the communication studies graduate of the Communication and Entrepreneurship track began his time at Klein believing he would emerge as a sports broadcaster. After some time covering the Flyers, he quickly discovered that sports journalism’s repetitive style was not for him. In the meantime, he decided to put Ritefully Wrong, the radio show he hosted at East Stroudsburg, online as a podcast. 

In 2014, this made Peters an early player in the podcast game. Throughout his time at Klein, Peters made it his business to learn more about how media and communication can be used in the real world — as a barback and trivia host at Draught Horse, a traffic reporter, trashbag marketing specialist and more. In 2016, he studied abroad in London with Associate Professor of Instruction in the Department of Media Studies and Production Sherri Hope Culver.

“From the very start it was clear that Jason brings an energy and intensity to his life,” Culver says. “He sees the opportunities and the creative possibilities in everything, and he is willing to fearlessly jump in and give it a try. I think those qualities were obvious from almost the first time we met. It's been amazing to watch that passion get focused on his journalistic efforts.”

While he was in London, Peters interned at Upbeat Productions, a production company that specialized in press junkets for movies that premiered in London. He says he loved London’s healthy work culture, where he feels that the goal is not to live to work, but to work to live.

Peters’ innovation and flexibility, which he picked up during each of these experiences, is something he prides himself on, not confining himself to conventional rules when it comes to journalism, his career or publishing his book, Life of a Giant. He wrote and published the book during a time when he was experiencing mental health issues, abusing alcohol and considering suicide. The book, he said, is a reflection of himself during that time. Not only was it not meant to please any particular audience or sell a certain number of copies, he believes it’s something he couldn’t write again today if he tried; he is someone entirely different now.

“I was very angsty. It’s an extremely opinionated book about things that people don’t like hearing opinions about. So it kind of rooted me in my beliefs, which I’m thankful for, but it’s super polarizing,” he says. “It came from a super sincere place, and it’s unlike a lot of things that have been made that way, or been made in general, because a lot of people make stuff to be liked or sell books.”

It was this brutal honesty that shaped his writing career, both before and after the book was published. After graduating from Klein, Peters took two years to work in marketing while he sought out journalism jobs and built his new podcast, 2100, an audio time capsule meant to help the people of the year 2100 to better — and more honestly — understand this time in history. 

Then, in 2019, Peters decided he had to stay true to himself; he quit his job, which he felt wasn’t moving forward, and began freelancing for Philadelphia Weekly. After three published articles including a cover story and a public debate with the mayor’s office over his homelessness coverage, he started to expand the range of his work, writing stories on the coronavirus pandemic for outlets all over the city. 

When protestors took to the streets following the murder of George Floyd and homeless encampments in Philadelphia faced eviction, Peters was there to cover it as well. “I’m, like, boots on the ground, I know the city really well and I know real people,” he says. “I find that there’s a lot of distance in between journalists and their subjects a lot of the time and I don’t like to keep that distance because I’m a citizen, just like they are.”

He says that covering issues and events like these are part of his responsibility as a citizen since he has unique skills as a multimedia journalist. “[When protesting began] I was like, ‘How am I the most useful to this?’ I was like, ‘I’m not gonna be a protestor, I’m gonna go out and I’m gonna cover what’s going on out there.’ So as soon as it happened, I was the first one out there.”

Peters continues to make his mark on the city and its media with bylines in Grid, Billy Penn, WHYY and more. He even has a deal with CBS to license all of the footage he posts to Twitter, and occasionally does paid live streams for Status Coup on YouTube. He is looking into general interest and public safety topics, notably working on a story on unlicensed strip clubs in West Philadelphia and fentanyl-laced cocaine that is now flooding drug markets.

For his next project, he is looking to start a publication covering workers’ rights and other local issues, pioneering an equitable pay model for all contributors. Until then, he says he is writing about the topics he loves just like he always has been, and that his success is only growing as he is published by bigger and bigger brands.

“The only reason I’m as successful as I am now is because other people co-signed me,” Peters says. “The work didn’t change.”