Hannah Schoenbaum covers government and politics for The Associated Press, with a focus on the North Carolina General Assembly and the state’s congressional races. Schoenbaum previously covered Congress for The Hill, a political news site, and the Albany Times Union while a graduate student at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, and was a regular contributor at USA Today. Her in-depth reporting on inequities against Black farmers and urban Native Americans has been cited on the congressional record and helped inform legislation. She has covered election security for the NBC News Vote Watch team, investigated wrongful evictions for The Boston Globe and questioned presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg about corporate influence in politics, live on CNN. An alumna of Boston University, she got her start in state government reporting as the Massachusetts Statehouse reporter for the Worcester Telegram & Gazette. She is a proud member of NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ Journalists.
Beat: North Carolina statehouse
These journalists have a passion for breaking news and state politics and policy to cover state government. Reporting to a field news editor with a dotted line to the state government editor, they seek to consistently break news and show the impact that policy decisions have on the lives of citizens. They’re self-starters who are comfortable with data sets and freedom of information requests, and also with moving swiftly among topics such as technology, elections, voting laws, inequality, health care, cryptocurrency, education and law enforcement. They know how to find a story at the local level but are comfortable writing it for a broad audience in ways that resonate in a state or community, or around the world. They work in multiple media formats, and have a demonstrated track record of inclusive storytelling. They must have the ability and willingness to work any shift, including at night and on weekends, or as coverage demands, as The AP is a 24/7 operation.