Kate Zernike (born December 8, 1968) is an American journalist who is national correspondent for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', where she has been since April 2000, covering education, criminal justice, Congress, and national elections, and where she covered

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

. She was previously a reporter at ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

'' (1995–2000), where she was responsible for covering education and special projects. She is the author of ''Boiling Mad: Inside Tea Party America'' (2010), on the

Tea Party movement The Tea Party movement was an American fiscally conservative political movement within the Republican Party that began in 2007, catapulted into the mainstream by Congressman Ron Paul's presidential campaign. The movement expanded in resp ...

. Marjorie Kehe of ''

The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles both in Electronic publishing, electronic format and a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 ...

'' remarked in 2010 that it was likely that "no other journalist in the United States has devoted as much time to covering the tea party movement".

Early life and education

Zernike was born in

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, outside of New York City. It is the sixth-most populous city in New England. Stamford is also the largest city in the Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, Weste ...

, the daughter of Barbara (née Backus) and Frits Zernike Jr.New York Times Weddings: Kate Zernike and Jonathan Schwartz"
September 25, 2005Hartford Courant: "Obituary ZERNIKE, Frits"
July 18, 2011 Her father was a physicist who emigrated from Groningen, the Netherlands in 1956; and her mother owned the St. Clair Ice Cream Company in South Norwalk, Connecticut. Her paternal grandfather, Frits Zernike, was a Dutch physicist who received the

Nobel Prize in Physics The Nobel Prize in Physics () is an annual award given by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for those who have made the most outstanding contributions to mankind in the field of physics. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the ...

in 1953. She has two brothers, Frits Zernike III and Harry Zernike. Zernike is a graduate of Trinity College at

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

, where she obtained her B.A. in history and English in 1990. She later graduated from the

Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is located in Pulitzer Hall on the university's Morningside Heights campus in New York City. Founded in 1912 by Joseph Pulitzer, Columbia Journalism School is one of the oldest journalism sch ...

, receiving a master's in journalism in 1992.

Career

Zernike began her career in journalism at '' The Patriot Ledger'' in

Quincy, Massachusetts Quincy ( ) is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest city in the county. Quincy is part of the Greater Boston area as one of Boston's immediate southern suburbs. Its population in ...

, where she worked from 1992 to 1995. She then worked as a reporter at The Boston Globe from 1995 to 2000, where she was responsible for covering education and special projects. Zernike became a national correspondent for ''

'' in April 2000, where she covers education, criminal justice, Congress, and national elections. She has also taught as an adjunct professor at the

Honors and awards

Zernike was a member of the ''New York Times'' team which shared the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting, which was for reporting on global terrorism and its networks. She also won the Education Writers Association prize for news feature reporting in 2000, and the Benjamin Fine Award in 1995.

Works

*''Boiling Mad: Inside Tea Party America'', New York: Times Books ( *

Personal

In 2005, she married Dr. Jonathan D. Schwartz in a ceremony presided over by a leader from the New York Society for Ethical Culture. Zernike lives in Montclair, NJ with her family. She has two sons with her husband.

References

External links

Her website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zernike, Kate Living people The New York Times journalists The Boston Globe people Writers from Connecticut University of Toronto alumni Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism alumni American people of Dutch descent 1968 births