New Role for Rebecca Corbett

Over her 20 years at The New York Times, Rebecca Corbett has become synonymous with signature, history-making journalism. She has led reporters exploring all manner of sensitive and treacherous terrain, from the shadowy world of national security to the ugly abuses of Harvey Weinstein to the deadly pattern of police traffic stops, among myriad other subjects. There is a reason that the best reporters want their best journalism to be firmly in Rebecca's hands. She treats their work and them with consummate care and rigor and dedication.

"Her deep appreciation for a terrific story is a huge motivator for reporters," said Scott Shane, who worked with Rebecca at The Baltimore Sun and at The Times.

Beginning in the new year, Rebecca will be motivating a new generation of reporters. Rebecca will join The Times's Local Investigations Fellowship program, working with Dean Baquet; Chris Davis, the deputy editor of the staff; Sona Patel, its editorial director; and the rest of the fellowship editing team.

As a senior investigations editor, Rebecca will directly edit local projects, mentor reporting fellows and help ensure that the stories produced by the program continue to meet The Times' standards. The program selects reporters for one-year fellowships to pursue investigative targets of local importance around the country. In just its second class of fellows, the program is producing a steady stream of significant journalism. That includes stories on abusive behavior by sheriff's deputies in Mississippi, which were finalists for a Pulitzer Prize in Local Reporting this year, and the groundbreaking accounting of overdose deaths in Baltimore. Earlier this month, The Times published a shocking story by a local investigative fellow detailing the high number of deaths in the sprawling detention system in Riverside County, Calif. If it read as if it had been edited by Rebecca, there's a reason for that. It was.

As Joe Kahn said, "Having an editor of Rebecca's peerless talents moving to the local initiative is a powerful demonstration of our drive to expand our investigative reach nationwide and to help fill the gaps caused by the crisis in local journalism."

Even as Rebecca makes this move, she will continue to be a presence throughout the newsroom, where she will be available to take on special assignments. Rebecca has been a partner with Dean Murphy in running the Investigations department for the past six years. During that time, the staff produced a project on the dangers of police traffic stops, which won the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting in 2022, among many other projects. Rebecca was a key editor in our workplace harassment reporting that won the Pulitzer Prize in 2018 (see "She Said" with Rebecca played by Patricia Clarkson). Most recently, she has edited investigations of the inner workings of the Supreme Court.

Jodi Kantor said of Rebecca, "to be edited by her is to pursue the highest journalistic ambitions, the most precise, expressive language, true fairness and complexity, and utter reader seduction."

Please join us in congratulating Rebecca on all her successes, and on her new role.

- Dean and Matt