Journalist biography playbook
The beat, the publications, the work that ran.
What the reader is hiring this bio to do
Journalist bios are read by sources, editors, peers, and readers. The fastest signal is the beat, the publication, and the recent work the reader can find.
Credibility signals to include
- Beat or coverage area.
- Current and recent publications.
- Notable stories, with one or two named.
- Recognitions: Pulitzers, Polks, Loeb, Murrow, Livingston.
- Books, if any.
Avoid in this industry
- Vague self-claims ('storyteller', 'truth-teller').
- Listing every publication you have freelanced once for.
- Failing to name the beat.
- Missing a contact for tips.
Structure
Preferred structure for the bio
A reliable order that performs in this field. Adjust to the venue.
- 1Name, beat, and primary publication.
- 2Two named stories or coverage areas.
- 3Recognitions and books.
- 4Education, if part of newsroom convention.
- 5Tip line and location.
Tone
How this industry's bios should sound
Wire-service register. Third person. No first-person flourishes. Avoid the urge to characterize your own coverage.
Lengths
Recommended lengths by venue
Openings
Opening formulas that work in this field
Open with beat and publication.
Aliyah Brooks is a staff writer at the New Yorker, where she covers labor and the economics of care work.
Worked examples
One hundred words. Fifty words.
Aliyah Brooks is a staff writer at the New Yorker, where she covers labor and the economics of care work. Her 2024 reporting on home health aide misclassification was a finalist for the Loeb Award. Before joining the magazine in 2022, she was a reporter at ProPublica, where her three-part series on private-equity-owned nursing homes was nominated for a National Magazine Award. Aliyah is the author of The Care Economy (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2025) and a graduate of Howard University and the Columbia Journalism School. She is based in Washington, D.C., and accepts tips at aliyah.brooks@newyorker.com or via Signal at +1-202-555-0148.
Aliyah Brooks covers labor and the care economy at the New Yorker (2022-). 2024 Loeb finalist. Previously ProPublica (NMA nominee). Author of The Care Economy (FSG, 2025). Howard, Columbia Journalism. Based in DC. Tips: aliyah.brooks@newyorker.com or Signal +1-202-555-0148.
Vocabulary
Words to reach for — and words to handle with care
Cross-references
Frameworks and voices this playbook pairs with
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