Katie Benner

Katie Benner is an American reporter for The New York Times covering the United States Department of Justice.

Early life and education Benner grew up in Vermont and was an English major at Bowdoin College, in Maine. After graduating in 1999 with "zero idea" about a career plan, she moved to Beijing to teach English. about everything from monks to music. In the wake of the September 11 attacks, she began collecting information on how the event affected American expatriates. Prompted by a friend's suggestion that this idea would make an interesting news story, she pitched it to the Portland Press Herald in Maine. She had some contacts there, having worked at a deli in her college days, regularly making sandwiches for several of the newspaper's writers and editors. The Press Herald accepted the story, launching her U.S. journalistic career.

Career Her first job back in the U.S. was as a reporter with CNN Money. With no experience in finance, she got the job after telling a skeptical job interviewer:I am broke, and I will work extremely hard. I can learn. All journalism is, is asking questions about things you don't know and finding answers. She then had three short stints as a staff writer. She "exited early" from The Information, a technology industry publication. This was followed by a position she described as "journalistic drudgery", writing synopses of Jim Cramer's radio and television shows for TheStreet. She opined that, "Yeah, it got a little repetitive." In 2017, she joined their Washington bureau as a Justice Department reporter. Her article "Women in Tech Speak Frankly on the Culture of Harassment" was part of a New York Times collection that won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. Benner described pervasive and ingrained predatory behavior toward women in Silicon Valley. Benner was one of the reporters who broke the story about the Justice Department's Matt Gaetz investigation of alleged sexual relationships with minors.

Benner has appeared on CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, and Marketplace Radio.

Work style Benner has been described as "masterful at digging into troubled companies", incredibly thorough and quite witty.

Personal life Benner lives in Washington, D.C., She is a knitter.