Rachel Sherman

I’m a senior news assistant for the Culture section of The New York Times, and I report on culture and the arts.

What I Cover

On Culture, I work with the theater, dance and fine arts editors to keep track of upcoming exhibitions and performances, support critics and explore new ways to reach readers. In addition, I help manage our social media accounts, acting as the last line of defense for potential factual errors, typos and blunders. I write across multiple sections of the paper and have a special interest in subcultures, misfits and oddball tales. I’m excited by food, gender and climate as lenses through which to tell stories about power. And I’m especially drawn to people living outside of big cities, and the stories and trends that shape our culture.

I often cover the arts but light up at anyone and anything that deeply explores the human condition.

My Background

I joined The Times in 2021 on a team investigating the effects of Covid-19 on incarcerated populations across the country, which was part of The Times’s pandemic coverage that was awarded the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.

I have worked as a freelance reporter for various outlets such as The Washington Post, Teen Vogue, and Coda Story, where I reported investigative stories, wrote human interest features and produced and appeared in explainer videos. Before becoming a journalist, I worked in the nonprofit sector, helping to develop a learning curriculum for visitors to genocide memorial sites in Rwanda, mentoring refugees from Mexico, Guatemala, Pakistan, Iraq and elsewhere, and producing global art exhibitions. I’ve been a yoga teacher, a taste tester and a waitress. In everything I do, I strive to be a listener first.

I have a bachelor’s degree in international relations from the University of Texas at Austin and a master’s degree in journalism from the Craig Newmark School of Journalism at CUNY. I grew up in Dallas.

Journalistic Ethics

Telling a person’s story is an honor, one I don’t take lightly. I approach my reporting with curiosity and vigor. I make sure to explain to anyone I interview how they might be quoted or what they would like to keep anonymous. I believe in treating people fairly, with accuracy and dignity. Like all Times journalists, I am committed to upholding the standards of integrity outlined in our Ethical Journalism Handbook.

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