After five years at The New York Times, Rob Hayes, a star reporter and pundit, has left to cover national politics for The Atlantic.
“I will miss my colleagues, colleagues who’ve made me a better reporter,” Mr. Hayes said. “Somebody who gets to go from one backwater to another was always fun, and I’m excited for this new venture.”
Mr. Hayes, 35, was widely praised by colleagues as a rising star who can give his stories context and depth. During his time with The Times, he broke news, contributed to the political verticals and covered national politics for The Caucus, a blog that put questions to politicians.
In April, Mr. Hayes won a Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for a long series on mortality rates among black youth in North Carolina, which was the result of an investigation by the research division he helped launch, The Root. He got the news through The Atlantic’s national desk.
This is his first time reporting for The Atlantic, a publication he described as “about as far from ‘The New York Times’ as you can get.”
Subscribe to Observer’s Arts Newsletter