Since 2002
Dr. Maxim Lengo is a journalist specializing in breaking news from Israel and worldwide, focusing on current affairs, security, and Middle Eastern affairs.
From Field Reporter to Online Communities Manager
Maxim started his journalism career in 2002 as a reporter for the weekly newspaper “MaNishma (What’s Up?) Kiryat Gat.” He was assigned to uncover unique stories about the city’s residents. This role eventually led him to cover one of the most severe murder cases in the country at that time. “The disappearance of the girl Hodaya Kedem in Jerusalem and the parents’ call for help received an immediate response from the residents of Kiryat Gat, who mobilized for the search. I covered the volunteers’ activities, which lasted several days until her body was found buried in the forest, and her father admitted to the murder.” Another platform where Maxim recognized potential was the online forums, which were starting to develop at that time. “It’s important to understand that these were days without Facebook and X (Twitter), with slow internet supported by landline phone infrastructure. But it was clear to me that there was an opportunity here. It was important for me to seize every opportunity I identified to express myself, experiment with writing, and hone my skills.”
For over a decade of activity in these forums and what later became known as “online social networks,” Maxim reported and followed events in real-time, established connections with relevant figures in the field, developed and maintained both open and closed sources of information, managed open and closed user communities, conducted in-depth discussions on current issues, and performed analytical and strategic analyses of various trends characterizing Israeli society. “Those were fascinating years that yielded a lot of experience. I wrote under my name and pseudonyms, which allowed me to ‘see but not be seen.’ In other words, on the one hand, I could report and update on any current event that interested me or was on the agenda, and on the other hand, I could also discuss without limitation high-level, strategic, and tactical topics related to the State of Israel, the Land of Israel, and the people of Israel.”
The fatal accident in Revadim, which claimed the lives of seven people and injured approximately 200 others, caught Maxim by surprise and created moments of uncertainty. “At around 17:40, at the beginning of the summer of 2005, I received a message about an accident involving a vehicle and a truck near Revadim, following which the MDA (Magen David Adom) center declared a mass casualty event. Something didn’t make sense to me—so many casualties in an accident between two vehicles? Only minutes later did I realize that there was a typo in the online report, and a train was involved in the accident. Shortly afterward, I discovered that the accident had occurred about a 20-minute drive from my location. As a youth volunteer in MDA, I missed what later became known as the ‘Revadim Disaster,’ mainly because the available rescue forces arrived relatively quickly on the scene. However, I still played a part in it, thanks to my involvement in the digital sphere.”
A Journalist in a System That Was Ahead of Its Time
Launching the “Scoop” news website in 2006 provided Maxim with an excellent opportunity to write and publish news, opinions, and fresh stories. “For the first time, I was able to reach professional maturity and express myself as a journalist who is not dependent on the major media systems, which influence public discourse.” Maxim covered events in real-time, published exclusive stories, conducted interviews with relevant figures, gathered and processed journalistic materials, tracked discussed topics, documented and photographed events and conferences that garnered media attention, and participated in professional conferences. All this took place over three challenging years, alongside his military service, until the decision was made by “Scoop” to change its name to YouPost and move away from its original purpose. “I think that Scoop was ahead of its time in many ways. The esteemed system members, including Yossi Saidov, Michael Weiss, and Shai Golden, operated it as a professional news system, allowing me and my colleagues to become real journalists. I was everything back then: a field reporter, investigative journalist, publicist, and literary critic. Among other things, I believe I was among the first to raise doubts about Roman Zadorov’s guilt in the case of the murder of Tair Rada in Katzrin. My coverage of the Polgat factory’s closure, one of Israel’s textile industry symbols, also fell within my responsibilities.”
Multitasking Journalist with a Press Card
In 2012, Maxim’s professional path intersected with the launch of “0404 News” on an advanced website, a matching mobile application, and online social networks. “My acquaintance with Boaz Golan and the experience I gained over the years paved the way for me to perform a central and influential role. In those days, the public in Israel was exposed for the first time to media that explicitly put security forces and the love of the people and the country at the center of the agenda.” Soon after, Maxim became a news editor, dealing with reports on security, current events, and politics, publishing them in real time. The editing work required identifying interesting stories, sometimes within minutes, filtering relevant information, and formulating it as news. Often, the process involved establishing contacts with spokespersons and other officials in security, politics, and the third sector, alongside fast typing, rewriting, and editing skills. “The fact that it was a news system with a small team of journalists contributed greatly to my ability to gain maximum experience in minimal time. One day, I could be a news editor dealing with exclusive stories, and the next day, I would be out in the field to cover and document events in real-time.”
Not long after, in addition to editing duties, Maxim took on the responsibility of managing and editing the weekend and holiday news summary section. “I was responsible for providing the public, particularly Sabbath observers, with an answer to the question ‘What happened?’ on that day or beyond, depending on the Hebrew calendar, from the moment the synagogue hymns announcing the Sabbath or holiday entrance were heard until they ended. It is important to emphasize that since the system did not operate on the Sabbath, and I personally object to working on the Sabbath, I approached preparing the summary as a voluntary mission aimed at positively influencing the Israeli public.” Maxim leveraged his experience in real-time reporting and took responsibility also for editing the world news reporting section. “Few may know, but I was the fastest reporter in Israel for several years, as evidenced by my portfolio. Sometimes, the information was more accurate than what was published in other media outlets, and they only caught up with my publication later. Sometimes, these were reports that competitors only published many hours after us.” This role required Maxim to follow prominent trends and events worldwide and to maintain constant communication with 0404 News correspondent in France, his friend, Yedida Cohen. Their collaboration often led to the publishing of exclusive reports and journalistic materials that could not be exposed elsewhere. Maxim’s work at 0404 News reached its peak after consolidating ties with Channel 20, which in late 2016 received a license to broadcast news. “We are talking about the end of the second decade of the 21st century, during which there was tremendous development in everything related to the digital age, the internet, which became accessible to everyone, among other things, thanks to smartphones, a basic product found in every hand today, and social media, which experienced tremendous acceleration.” If, until these technological developments, it was sufficient to hold the position of a field reporter or publicist, now the news editor is also required to manage social networks and maintain direct and constant contact with end-users, who often find themselves at the scene. “It’s enough for our readers to pass by a burning car, get stuck in unbearable traffic congestion, experience a unique natural phenomenon, or stroll in streams for the personal case to become a news story. Working at 0404 News was definitely multidimensional and left me with endless experiences.” Throughout the years at 0404 News, Maxim received a journalist card from the Government Press Office.
From Practice to Theory and Independence
Simultaneous with the conclusion of his tenure at News 0404, Maxim was accepted to the School of Communication at Bar-Ilan University and began writing his doctoral dissertation to earn a Ph.D. in Philosophy. He remained an independent journalist with unwavering dedication.