54
CityAndStateNY.com
June 19, 2017
RACHEL SILBERSTEIN STATE GOVERNMENT REPORTER, GOTHAM GAZETTE Birthday: 05/07/1985
Twitter: @rachelsilby
HE THING Rachel Silberstein most likes about journalism is telling the truth. “That was the aspect that always drove me to be a journalist,” she says. “And politics is one area where a lot of it is spin, so there’s a lot of opportunity to tell the truth and just cut to the bottom of it and cut to the facts.” Silberstein has always been something of a contrarian, she says, and she relishes the opportunity to hold public officials accountable for their words and actions. Since joining Gotham Gazette in December as a state government reporter, she has worked hard to push the boundaries of her beat, authoring stories on conflicts of interest in Queens Surrogate’s Court, and drawing attention to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s failure to make his ethics reform proposals a reality. As larger newspapers are scaling back their state government coverage, Silberstein is all too aware that important stories are going uncovered. It makes the work she’s doing even more vital, she says. “There’s so much stuff to write about and so few of us that we can’t possibly cover every committee meeting or thing that happens,” she says. “Corruption grows in the darkness,” Silberstein adds. ”Politicians are very powerful and handle a lot of money, a lot of taxpayer dollars, and very few people are writing about what’s happening with it, so it’s very cool to be in a position to hold them accountable.”
EDUCATION
Brooklyn College