Ilana Kowarski

journalist in Washington, DC

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As a graduate school reporter for US News & World Report, I cover higher education, and I welcome all news tips. I am always on the lookout for interesting stories and extraordinary people. During my journalism career, I have written about a poet who chronicled the history of democratic revolutions, and I have produced a documentary about cloistered monks living in Chicago. My unconventional story ideas distinguish me as a reporter and help me to avoid the pitfalls of pack journalism. I received honors in ideas journalism at the Columbia Journalism School, where I earned an M.S. in 2012, and my goal is to produce original, thought-provoking content for news consumers.

Here's a brief rundown of my background. I was a newspaper reporter in Melbourne, Florida for a little more than 2.5 years, where I worked for FLORIDA TODAY, and I reported on various beats, including general assignment business news, retail and real estate coverage, education watchdog reporting and writing, and the innovation/technology beat. Previously, I served as a State House reporter in Annapolis, where I was part of the reporting team at MarylandReporter.com which won the 2013 “Best of Baltimore” award given by Baltimore Magazine. They identified MarylandReporter.com as the best political website in the Baltimore region and praised us for covering state politics with “unusual breadth and depth.” I also have experience doing arts reporting for the Chicago alternative weekly Newcity. My work has been published in national publications, including USA Today, The Christian Science Monitor, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and District Administration magazine, and I just began writing full-time for US News & World Report in DC.

Specialties: Consumer journalism, business reporting, political coverage, arts criticism and education writing.

  • Education
    • Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
    • University of Chicago