You see their names under headlines, on TV and occupying your Twitter feed, but who are the people Behind the Byline? We’ll take you inside the POLITICO newsroom through interviews with our top-notch editorial team to provide insight on who we are, what we do and how our journalism is produced.
Brakkton Booker joined POLITICO as the new author of The Recast — our twice-weekly newsletter that breaks down how race and identity are shaping politics, policy and power —and national political correspondent on March 30. Ahead of his first day, we caught up with Brakkton to find out what he’s looking forward to about authoring The Recast, what his vision is for the newsletter, and why you should subscribe.
What excites you most about starting at POLITICO? POLITICO has set a standard of excellence within the industry, not just for its scoops, but for presenting and distilling complex issues that both political junkies and casual observers of government processes can easily digest.
Knowing that POLITICO is committed to applying that same focus on issues of race and identity and the myriad ways marginalized communities are disproportionately impacted by certain state and federal laws and policies is unbelievingly exciting. There’s so much to unpack! There’s so much to do! Getting to work with fellow journalists who also understand the importance of these issues is what’s got me amped for this unique opportunity.
How did you get started as a reporter? I’ve always known I wanted to be a reporter, but I took a circuitous route to get there.
After I graduated from Howard University, the plan was to work at a local TV station and work my way up. But after several months of sending out résumé reels (on VHS, by the way), I wasn’t getting many bites. I ended up landing what was supposed to be a two-week temp assignment at NPR booking guests and doing research for hosts, and I wound up staying at the company for nearly 18 years. I worked my way up through the production ranks before eventually switching to reporting, where I covered several election cycles dating back to 2012. I also rode out hurricanes in Florida and North Carolina, covered the unrest in Ferguson, Mo., following the police killing of Michael Brown and reported on several mass shootings after that, including in Parkland, Fla., which set in motion the March for Our Lives gun violence prevention movement.
I love listening to people and sharing their stories. I feel very privileged to be able to bring those sensibilities to POLITICO.
What are you most looking forward to as the new author of The Recast? Where do I begin? If there is anything we’ve learned during the previous administration and in the aftermath of the national protests sparked by the killing of George Floyd, it’s that issues of race permeate all aspects of life and culture in America. That includes politics, criminal justice, athletics, entertainment, business, the coronavirus pandemic — you name it. Part of the mission of The Recast is to broaden the definition of who is considered, well, a politico.
I’m excited to highlight athletes and sports leagues, actors and CEOs who are using their platforms to call out injustices and elevate the conversation about race. I want to learn how they go about applying pressure on elected officials to bring about change. I’m also very much looking forward to documenting what change looks like under the Biden administration. He campaigned on restoring presidential norms, has nominated or appointed diverse leaders to his administration and vowed to usher in a new era of bipartisanship.
We are now on Day 70 of his administration; Biden was in office more than two months before holding his first press conference. He is coming under fire for not appointing a single Asian American to a Cabinet-level position, something that is getting more attention since the Atlanta-area mass shootings this month, and he is leading a party that is threatening to eliminate the Senate filibuster in order to get his big-ticket agenda items passed.
The Recast will not shy away from tackling these difficult issues. If I could borrow a lyric from Hamilton, as a journalist, I can emphatically say: “Look around, look around / At how lucky we are to be alive right now.”
What driving questions will guide your work on The Recast? I don’t want to be overly simplistic here, but the overarching questions will be: What does change look like and what are leaders doing to get there? Also, what forces are working against the push to get new agenda items from ideas into laws? There are questions about if this nation is in the midst of a modern-day civil rights movement and whether America’s 2020 national reckoning will bring about lasting change. The Recast will be there to document how this all takes shape, however you decide to label this current era of American politics.
Why should people subscribe? Beyond the fact that it’s going to be awesome, we very much want the public to engage with us and we want to hear from them. As we work to hold elected leaders accountable, we want our readers to hold us accountable too. We are trying to build a community to help bring about a better understanding of where we are headed as a nation. We can only do that with your help.
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March 30, 2021 at 08:48PM
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Behind the Byline: Brakkton Booker - POLITICO - Politico
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