101 Female Journalists We Admire

by Anum Hussain in September 25th, 2019

In the Fall of 2019, Forbes released its list of 100 Most Innovative Leaders, on which, only one woman was mentioned: Ross Stores CEO Barbara Rentler.

Naturally, women in business, tech, and beyond began protesting the list all over social media. Media coverage has long lacked proper representation, and oftentimes that stems from a lack of diversity within newsrooms themselves. In fact, a Pew Report found that newsroom employees are less diverse than U.S. workers overall.

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While Forbes has since responded to the list by saying that they employ technology to build the list rather than having people brainstorm and discuss... the fact remains that upon the list being drafted, not a single person questioned it before publishing. Forbes itself is run by a C-Suite dominated by men.

Clearly, there's work to be done. For now, we wanted to pause and appreciate the diversity that does exist. We tapped into our networks of women-oriented Facebook and WhatsApp groups to crowdsource female journalists. Within two hours, our list was more than half full with incredible reporters, writers, producers, authors, and more who are admired for their work.

Sometimes ensuring representation is as simple as just asking. The complete list is below, shared in alphabetical order by first name. We also built a Twitter list of them all here, so you can easily subscribe and follow their work. 

1. Akilah JohnsonPropublica 

With over 15 years as a practicing journalist under her belt, Akilah finds herself at Propublica after working at publications such as The LA TimesSun Sentinel, and The Boston Globe. From interviewing presidential candidates in New Hampshire and protestors in Ferguson, MO to moderating mayoral debates and forums, Akilah has been passionate about telling untold stories. She was also one of the core reporters working on Spotlight, a 7-part series shedding light on how Boston's reputation for racism plays out in the lives of people who live in the city.

2. Amanda MaarcotteSalon 

Amanda has written for several publications including SlateThe Guardian, and now Salon as a politics writer. Time magazine describes her as "an outspoken voice of the left." An active voice on all topics feminism, she authored "It's a Jungle Out There: The Feminist Survival Guide to Politically Inhospitable Environments" in 2008. She's also the author of the books "Troll Nation" and "Get Opinionated."

3. Amy GoodmanZulily

Amy began her career in women's magazines, working in various editor roles at magazines such as In StyleAll You, and Southern Living. She's now a lifestyle correspondent covering everything from interviewing celebs to cleaning out closets and crafting home decor for outlets such as the Today ShowLive with Kelly & RyanGood Morning America and more. She's also the author of "WEAR THIS, TOSS THAT."

4. Amy KaufmanLA Times

For over a decade, Amy has been covering film, celebrity news, and pop culture since 2009. Her beat includes reporting on industry events such as the Academy Awards, the Golden Globes, and the Sundance Film Festival. She's been an active player in covering important topics in media, including breaking major investigative stories on sexual harassment in Hollywood. She's also the author of "Bachelor Nation: Inside the World of America's Favorite Guilty Pleasure." 

5. Ann CurryNBC News

With 30 years of reporting under her belt, Ann's work has covered human suffering in war zones and natural disasters such as Syria, Darfur, Congo, Afghanistan, and more. While she has numerous noteworthy stories, her coverage of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti on Twitter is credited for helping humanitarians plan their arrival in such a speedy manner. She delivered a TEDx Talk in Portland on, "How to restore trust in journalism" in April 2018.

6. Anna Erelle, French Journalist

Anna Erelle is the pseudonym used by a French journalist who went undercover as a Jihadi. The name is to protect herself after pretending to be a 20-year-old girl who recently converted to Islam and showed willingness to marry an ISIS leader. Her book, "In The Skin of a Jihadist," exposes the world to how ISIS uses social media and technology to recruit disaffected youth. 

7. April RyanCNN

Since the Clinton era, April has been a White House Correspondent with a unique vantage point as the only black female reporter covering urban issues from the White House. She can be heard almost daily on Outfront with Erin BurnettCNN Tonight with Don LemonThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and more. She authored three books: "The Presidency in Black and White," "AT Mama's Knee: Mothers and Race in Black and White," and "Under Fire: Reporting From The Front Lines of The Trump White House."

8. Asma KhalidNPR

Asma got her start in journalism in Indiana before moving to Boston where she's reported on a range of stories at NPR from the 2016 presidential campaign to the Boston Marathon Bombings to the trial of James "Whitey" Bulger. She helped launch NPR's station WBUR where she reported on business, tech, and the future of work. She's now on NPR's political team as a correspondent covering the 2020 presidential election and as a co-host of their political podcast.

9. Aura BogadoReveal

As an investigative immigration reporter, Aura covers heart-wrenching stories that serve as a reminder to pay attention and ask critical questions. She's been actively covering the U.S. immigration crisis from the secret opening of shelters to the detaining of immigrant children, including first-hand accounts such as her two-part series called "When they took my son." Her work has appeared in The GuardianThe American Prospect, and Mother Jones

10. Avery Trufelman99piorg

Avery is a producer who makes audio stories about design and has given talks all over the world about podcasting, design, and storytelling. In September 2018, she made a 6-part series about clothing and fashion called "Articles of Interest," which was later declared one of the best podcasts of 2018 by The New Yorker. She currently makes radio stories about design and architecture for the podcast 99% Invisible.

11. Barbara DemickLA Times

In 2001, Barabara moved to Seoul for The Los Angeles Times where she has been interviewing North Koreans about their lives ever since. Her human rights reporting has won awards and led to her book, "Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea." She was previously at The Philadelphia Inquirer as a foreign correspondent in the Middle East and Eastern Europe. She previously authored, "Logavina Street," a book about her daily life while living in Bosnia during the war. 

12. Benet WilsonAviation Queen

As an ONA Board member, those who know Benet know her for how much she gives to uplift other journalists of color. As a writer, she's known as the Aviation Queen for her work as an Air Travel Expert for About.com and Senior Business Editor for Airport Business magazine. Her range of clients include USA Today's Today in the Sky blog, Airport World magazine, and NewsCred

13. Bethany McLeanVanity Fair

Known for her writing on the Enron scandal and the 2008 financial crisis, Bethany is a contributing editor for Vanity Fair. With a former career as an investment banking analyst for Goldman Sachs, Bethany came into the media world with knowledge that helped her navigate her beat. She co-authored two books: "The Smartest Guys in the Room," which detailed the corrupt business practices of Enron officials, and "All the Devils are Here," on the 2008 financial crisis.

14. Carole CadwalladrThe Guardian

Carole is best known for her coverage of the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica data scandal, which almost won her this year's Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting. Since 2016, her beat has focused on what she calls "the right-wing fake news ecosystem," covering Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election and in Brexit. Earlier this year, she gave a TED talk, titled "Facebook's role in Brexit — and the threat to democracy," directly calling out the "God's of Silicon Valley" (some of whom were in the room at the time), which was met with rambunctious applause from the audience.

15. Carole SimpsonABC News

Carole became the first woman of color to moderate a presidential debate in 1992 and that same year won the Journalist of the Year Award from the National Association of Black Journalists. She's also the first African-American woman to anchor a news broadcast (at NBC) and first African-American to solo-anchor a network evening newscast (weekend edition of World News Tonight). She left ABC News in 2006 and in 2010 wrote her autobiography "News Lady."

(In full disclosure, Carole also edited my broadcast scripts while I was a student at Emerson College, where Carole taught from 2006 to 2019).  

16. Celeste LeCompteProPublica

An award-winning journalist with an entrepreneurial spirit, Celeste has worked on product development, content strategy, and editorial management for numerous media companies, nonprofits, and corporate clients. While she's now the VP of biz dev at ProPublica, she previously worked as a journalist covering technology, innovation, and environmental issues. Her stories have taken her from rural farms in Illinois to factory floors in China, with her work appearing in a number of publications such as Bloomberg BusinessweekSmithsonianNeiman Reports, and more.

17. Christiane AmanpourCNN & PBS

No such list can be complete without Christiane Amanpour. Christiane's career began at CNN in 1983 with her first major assignment later becoming the coverage of the Iran-Iraq war, ultimately leading her to transfer to Eastern Europe in 1986 to report on the fall of European communism. She continued to report on critical international issues such as the Bosnian war to becoming the first international correspondent to interview major political figures such as British Prime Minister Tony Blair, French President Jacques Chirac, and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. She is now the Chief International Anchor for CNN and hosts her own nightly program Amanpour as well as Amanpour & Company on PBS

18. Christina FarrCNBC

Christina is a technology and health reporter who, prior to CNBC, has worked as a senior writer for Fast Company and an Apple reporter at Reuter News. She's covered topics across digital and print, covering the intersection of health and tech while exploring how policy changes have opened up both opportunities and risks for Silicon Valley. She's contributed pieces to various publications such as MashableUSA Today, and The Telegraph

19. Christina PascucciKTLA

Christina's work has taken her across the world from the Dalai Lama's palace in India to the president of Palau's office. Her investigative work has exposed human-rights violations, sex-trafficking, and environmental issues. Outside of her work with KTLAChristina serves as the Director of Communications for the Children of War Foundation, and is an ambassador to 88 Bikes, a non-profit focusing on ending child sex-trafficking worldwide.

20. Dahlia LithwickNewsweek & Slate

Once a regular guest on The AI Franken Show and guest columnist for The New York Times Op-Ed page, Dahlia writes primarily about law and politics in the United States. She's currently a contributing editor at Newsweek and senior editor at Slate. Some of her more well-known work includes her Supreme Court dispatches, jurisprudence, and coverage of the Microsoft trial. Her published work has appeared in The Washington PostThe Ottawa Citizen, and The New Republic

21. Darsha PhilipsNBC

With more than 10 years of experience reporting, producing, and managing live news segments for television and digital platforms, Darsha prides herself in consistently taking complex assignments and meeting tight deadlines. Aware of the lacking representation in journalism as a Sri Lankan herself, Darsha has also taken on mentoring roles through speaking engagements and volunteering at underprivileged schools. She was a broadcast reporter for KABC-TV before her current role at NBC News.

22. Davey AlbaThe New York Times

Davey is a technology reporter for The New York Times covering the disinformation beat. She previously covered topics in tech, such as artificial intelligence and tech's effects on people and communities, and publications such as BuzzFeed News and Wired. She recently won a Livingston Award for her international reporting on how Duerte used Facebook to fuel the Philippine drug war. 

23. Diane SawyerABC News

Diane was the first female correspondent for 60 Minutes, beginning her career at local news stations and the White House press house at a time when very few female journalists were there. She's been the anchor for ABC World News and co-anchor of the morning news program Good Morning America. She's frequented the Forbes list of the world's most powerful women since 2004.

24. Deeyah KhanFuuse

Deeyah is the woman response for the powerful documentary "White Right Meeting the Enemy," where she sat down with a White Supremacist to confront him about his beliefs, even reading aloud some of the death threats she had received as a Muslim woman of color. The craziest twist of the documentary? One of the White Supremacist she interviewed went through an emotional change, and left his Neo-Nazi/White Supremacist communities.

25. Dolly LiAJ+

Dolly is an investigative cultural journalist who won a regional Emmy for her documentary about San Francisco's Chinatown, a series examining Chinese-American communities. After three years in Al Jazeera's digital channel as a creative and video producer, she began Goldthread, a digital publication from the South China Morning Post about culture in Greater China and beyond. Her stories have included everything from the underground reggae scene in Shanghai to the original b-boy dance crew in Beijing to China's obsession with 666.

26. Elaine Welteroth, Author

In 2012, Elaine became the first African American to ever become the beauty and health director at Conde Nast and in 2017 became the youngest every appointed editor-in-chief at Teen Vogue. She's previously held editor roles at publications such as Glamour, and Ebony. She's now a judge on the new Project Runway and has written for the hit show Grown-ish. She also wrote the book "More Than Enough." 

27. Elise Hu, NPR

Elise is NPR's "future" correspondent where she works on "Future You," a monthly video series exploring how today's emerging science and technology could change what it means to be a human by the year 2050. She was previously the founding bureau chief and international correspondent for NPR's Seoul office, where she was based for three years and responsible for covering the Koreas and Japan. 

28. Ellen Nakashima, The Washington Post

Ellen has been at The Washington Post since 1995, working now as a national security reporter and covering topics relating to cybersecurity, surveillance, counterterrorism, and intelligence. Ellen and her team won the Pulitzer Prize in 2014 for reporting on the hidden scope of government surveillance and its policy implications. She has also probed Russia's efforts to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election and has served as a Southeast Asia correspondent. 

29. Erika A. Aguilar, KQED News

Reporting for public media for more than ten years, Erika has covered law enforcement, breaking news in LA, and Orange County issues for KPCC public radio. She's now editor of The Bay, a local news and storytelling podcast for KQED after a stint in their news department. She also previously wrote stories about the environment for KUT public radio in Austin.

30. Errin HainesThe 19th*

As editor-at-large at the 19th*, Errin's work covers political news related to women-centric stories. Previously working as the Associated Press's national writer on race and ethnicity, Errin focused on the intersection of race, politics, and culture — including civil and voting rights, the black electorate, and the emerging modern protest movement. She has also written for The Washington PostThe Orlando Sentinel, and The Los Angeles Times

31. Farnaz FassihiThe New York Times

After 14 years covering wars and uprisings in the middle east, Farnaz focused her writing on diplomacy and the United Nations. She's an Iranian-American journalist who has been recognized for her "distinguished contribution" to America's society. She was a senior writer for The Wall Street Journal before joining The New York Times, and authored the book "Waiting for an Ordinary Day," a memoir of her four years covering the Iraq War. 

32. Gwen IfillPBS

In 1999, Gwen became the first woman of African descent to host a nationally televised U.S. public affair program with Washington Week in Review. She moderated the vice presidential debates in 2004 and 2008 and authored the book "The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama." She is currently the moderator and managing editor of Washington Week and the co-anchor and co-managing editor of PBS NewsHour

33. Hannah AllamNPR

After spending a decade overseas as bureau chief in Baghdad during the Iraq war and in Cairo during the Arab Spring rebellions, Hannah moved to Washington to cover foreign policy. In 2015, she began a year-long series documenting hostility toward Islam in America, which earned her three national religion reporting awards. She covered U.S. Muslim issues at BuzzFeed News before becoming a national security correspondent at NPR focusing on homegrown extremism.

34. Hind HassanVice

Hind is a news reporter with a focus on international news and the Middle East. Her work began as a news producer at Al Jazeera before taking on a variety of roles at Sky News, where she produced international news reports and was heavily involved in the coverage of the Arab Spring. She's now on Vice News Tonight as an HBO correspondent. 

35. Hu ShuliCaixin Media

Hu is a Chinese journalist who is the founder and editor-in-chief of Caixin Media, a Beijing-based media group providing financial and business news. She was formerly the international editor of China Business Times and founder of Caijing, a business and finance magazine. She's considered one of the most respected reporters in such a media-restrained country, leading to her being listed as the 87th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes and in the top 100 most influential people by Time, both in 2011. 

36. Jane FergusonPBS

With over a decade of experience living in the Middle East and reporting from the Arab world, Africa, and South Asia, Jane is a foreign-correspondent for PBS NewsHour. Her work focuses on conflict, diplomacy, and human stories with an emphasis on in-depth, magazine length-broadcasting. She's also a Pulitzer Center grantee and contributes to The New Yorker. 

37. Jane MayerNew Yorker

Jane became the first woman at The Wall Street Journal to be named White House correspondent. She's served as a war and foreign correspondent at The Journal, where she reported on the bombing of the American barracks in Beirut, the Persian Gulf War, and the fall of the Berlin Wall. She remains a staff writer at The New Yorker and has co-authored two books: "Strange Justice" and "Landslide."

38. Jenna WorthamNew York Times Magazine

Jenna has been quoted as "one of those rare writers who is able to explain the shapeshifting culture of the younger and newer internet." Beginning her career at a variety of publications in San Francisco, she became a technology and culture reporter at Wired before joining The New York Times. She's now a staff writer for the magazine and host of the podcast, "Still Processing." 

39. Jessi HempelWired

As a senior writer for Wired, Jessi covers business technology. She previously wrote cover stories on Yahoo!, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn at Fortune and stories on design and technology for BusinessWeek. Her prior work has dug deep on the structural problems that threatened to hinder Twitter's growth and emerging competition between Facebook and Google. 

40. Jia TolentinoThe New Yorker

Jia is a staff writer at The New Yorker and the author of an essay collection "Trick Mirror." Her recent work explores youth vaping while her authored work explores the ongoing reckoning about sexual assault. She was formerly the deputy editor at Jezebel and a contributing editor at The Hairpin. Her work has appeared in Times MagazineThe FaderTime, Slate, among others. 

41. Jodi KantorThe New York Times

Jodi is a Pulitzer-prize winning investigative reporter most-known for breaking the Weinstein story along with Megan Twohey (mentioned below). As the arts and leisure editor, she chronicled Barack and Michelle Obama's transformation into president and first lady over two presidential campaigns, ultimately authoring the book, "The Obamas." She and Megan more recently published "She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story that helped Ignite a Movement."  

42. Josie Duffy RiceThe Appeal

Josie is a journalist and lawyer focused on prosecutors, prisons, and other criminal justice issues. She's currently the president of The Appeal, a news publication publishing original journalism about the criminal justice system. She is also the co-host of the podcast Justice in America. Her other work has been featured in The New York TimesThe New YorkerThe Atlantic, and more. 

43. Joy ReidMSNBC

Joy has had a long-standing career in broadcast journalism, now at MSNBC where she hosts AM Joy, a political weekend-morning talk show. At the forefront of cable election news coverage, she wrote a book called, "Fracture: Barack Obama, the Clintons, and the Racial Divide." She also wrote, "The Man Who Sold America: Trump and the Unraveling of the American Story." 

44. Judy WoodruffPBS

Working in broadcast journalism since 1976, Judy has covered every presidential election and convention since the win by 39th U.S. president Jimmy Carter. She's interviewed several heads of state, moderated U.S. presidential debates, and is now an anchor and managing editor of PBS NewsHour

45. Julie SnyderThis American Life

The co-creator and producer for podcasts such as Serial, Julie plays a huge role in helping reporters tell meaningful stories. Early on at This American Life, she found that many valuable pitches were getting overlooked and implemented a better system for getting pitches reviewed. She also co-created and produced S-Town

46. Kara SwisherRecode

The most-mentioned name during our open call for contributions, Kara is a business journalist and co-founder of Recode. Regarded as Silicon Valley's "premier journalist," Kara has written for The Wall Street JournalThe New York Times, and more. She's the author of "aol.com: How Steve Case Beat Bill Gates" and "There Must Be a Pony in Here Somewhere." She intends to run for mayor of San Francisco in 2023.

47. Kat ChowNPR

Currently on sabbatical to write a memoir digging into the questions of grief, race, and identity that triggered her mother's death when she was young, Kat is a reporter for NPR and a founding member of the Code Switch team. She's reported on what defines Native American identity, gentrification in New York City's Chinatown, and the aftermath of violent hate crimes. 

48. Kate AdieBBC News

Kate was chief news correspondent at BBC News where she reported from war zones around the world. Her big break came when she famously reported live and unscripted on the London Iranian Embassy siege in 1908 while crouched behind a door among exploding smoke bombs and soldiers. She's the author of "The Kindness of Strangers," "Nobody's Child," and "Fighting on the Home Front." 

49. Kate ClarkTechCrunch

Previously covering the venture capital ecosystem for PitchBook News, Kate is a reporter for TechCrunch where she covers diversity and inclusion, consumer technology, mobility, and more. She's known by some VCs for "calling out a lot of BS" in the valley. She's also the co-host of Equity. 

50. Katie CouricCNN

With an early career as an assignment editor for CNN, Katie has been a television host on all big three television networks in the U.S. She also hosted her own daytime talk show produced by Disney-ABC and recently served as Yahoo's global news anchor. She wrote the book, "The Best Advice I Ever Got" and was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 2004. She currently has a daily newsletter, Wake-Up Call. 

51. Kia KokalitchevaAxios

Often found at demo days or meeting tiny startups, Kia has been covering startups and VC for VentureBeatFortune, and now Axios. She covers major tech companies such as Uber, Airbnb, and Twitter. She also writes features on the crypto space and other fintech topics like funding and diversity in finance. 

52. Kirsten West SavaliEssence

Now a senior editor for news and politics at Essence, Kristen has been writing about the intersectionality of race, religion, gender, politics, and culture in articles for Huffington PostVibe VixenThe Root, and more. She's held editor roles previously at YourBlackWorld.com and Newsone.com

53. Kitty EiseleDemented

Previously on NPR's morning news magazine, Morning Edition, Kitty formerly edited and produced NPR's flagship daily news program. She created the award-winning series on "The Changing Lives of Women" among others. She's since produced "Jim Wallis in Conversation at Audible, has been teaching journalism at Georgetown University for 20 years, and is currently the executive producer for Demented: When You Become Your Parents' Parent

54. Laila Al-ArianAl Jazeera

Laila is an Emmy-award winning broadcast journalist at Al Jazeera where she broadcasts their documentary series Fault Lines. Her work has included producing the special on Palestine Papers, raising national attention on Homeland, and producing several documentaries such as The Abortion War and Made in Bangladesh

55. Lauren ChristensenThe New York Times

The youngest ever editor at The New York Times Book Review, Lauren both writes and edits. She's worked previously at CNN and Vanity Fair before joining the books desk at The New York Times. Her most recent piece was on how writers and thinkers remembered Toni Morrison.

56. Lauren DucaAuthor

Beginning her career as a reporter for The Huffington Post, Lauren gained attention while at Teen Vogue. There, she wrote an op-ed titled, "Donald Trump Is Gaslighting America" and maintained a column called "Thigh-High Politics." She released a book on young people and the future of American politics titled, "How to Start a Revolution." 

57. Leigh CuenCoinDesk

While she jokes her own cryptocurrency holdings are worth less than a pair of leather boots, Leigh is a tech reporter covering blockchain technology for publications such as Newsweek JapanInternational Business Times, and Racked. Her prior work has also been published by Teen VogueAl Jazeera EnglishThe Jerusalem PostMic, and Salon

58. Lisa LingCNN

With a longstanding journalism career under her belt, Lisa has been a co-host of ABC's daytime show The View, a field correspondent for The Oprah Winfrey Show, an explorer for National Geographic, and more. She's reported from dozens of countries including stories about gang rape in the Congo, bride burning in India, and the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda. She most recently went on a breathtaking journey to the far corners of America in her CNN original series, "This is Life." She's also the co-author of "Mother, Daughter, Sister, Bride" and "Somewhere Inside." 

59. Lisa StoneBlogHer

Beginning her career as a journalist for CNN, Lisa began developing new social media business models when she became the first internet journalist to be granted a Neiman Fellowship from Harvard. She co-founded BlogHer in 2005 until it was acquired by She Knows Media. She then went on to C-suite roles at Ellevest, was an entrepreneur in residence at Trinity Ventures, and now sits on the advisory board for a number of startups. 

60. Louisa LoveluckThe Washington Post

Known for her coverage on Syria, Louisa is a reporter for The Washington Post's Beirut bureau. She focuses on not only Syria but the wider Middle East. She was previously stationed in Cairo while a correspondent for The Daily Telegraph

61. Lux AlptraumOneZero

Lux is a writer offering thoughtful criticisms to the sex-positivity movement with bylines appearing in The New York TimesThe GuardianCosmo, and others. She has a weekly newsletter called The Lux Letter for her commentary on sex, feminism, and pop culture. She also wrote the book "Faking It: The Lies Women Tell About Sex."

62. Maria HinojosaFuturo Media

Maria is an award-winning journalist who has helped tell America's untold stories for over 25 years. She's amplified the voices of the Latinx community in the U.S. and is the founder of Futuro Media Group and host of the long-running weekly NPR show Latino USA. She is the author of two books including a motherhood memoir, "Raising Raul: Adventures Raising Myself and My Son." 

63. Maureen DowdNew York Times Opinion

Maureen began her journalism career in 1974 as an editorial assistant for The Washington Star, where she later became a sports columnist, metropolitan writer, and feature writer. Her career continued through various roles at The New York Times, where she's currently an op-ed columnist focused on American politics, pop culture, and international affairs. She's written three books: "On Washington," "Bushworld," and "Are Men Necessary?" 

64. Megan TwoheyThe New York Times

Megan is an investigative journalist focused on drawing attention to the treatment of women and children. She told the stories of the women who accused Donald J. Trump of sexual misconduct before his presidency, alongside Jodi Kantor (mentioned above), she broke the Weinstein story that led to the #MeToo movement. She and Jodi recently published "She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story that helped Ignite a Movement."  

65. Melissa LeeCNBC

Melissa is a reporter and anchor for CNBC where she's the host, alongside a roundtable of top traders, of "Fast Money," which brings actionable news that matters to investors. She's hosted a variety of CNBC shows previously, and also hosted six CNBC documentaries including "Made in China," "Coca-Cola," and "The $50M Con." 

66. Michelle GoldbergThe New York Times

Previously a columnist for Slate and a frequent commentator on radio and television, Michelle has appeared in The New YorkerNewsweek, and The Guardian, among others. She's now an op-ed columnist for The New York Times and has written three books: "Kingdom Coming," "The Means of Reproduction," and "The Goddess Pose."

67. Natalie KitroeffThe New York Times

With an early career as an editorial assistant for Nicholas Kristof, Natalie then reported on business education at Bloomberg Businessweek and California's economy for The Los Angeles Times. She's now an economy reporter at The New York Times.

68. Natasha BertrandPOLITICO

Natasha began her career as a politics reporter for Business Insider before becoming a staff writer for The Atlantic covering national security and politics. She's now POLITCO's national security correspondent and contributes to NBS News and MSNBC

69. Natasha MascarenhasTechCrunch

Natasha is a venture capital and tech reporter for TechCrunch and formerly Crunchbase News, where she writes about underserved regions with blossoming tech scenes. She has a soft spot for early-stage startups looking to renovate boring, monopolized industries. She's previously been at The San Francisco Chronicle and The Boston Globe. She also has a daily newsletter.

70. Nikole Hannah-JonesNew York Times Magazine

Nikole is an award-winning investigative reporter covering racial injustice for The New York Times Magazine. She's also the creator of the landmark 1619 Project, which commemorates the 400th year of slavery in what would become the U.S. by examining slavery's modern legacy. She has written extensively about school resegregation across the country and chronicled decades-long failure of the federal government to enforce the 1968 Fair Housing Act. 

71. Neena SatijaThe Washington Post

Neena is an investigative reporter for The Washington Post and was previously such for The Texas Tribune. While in Texas she was also a producer for Reveal, a national radio show and podcast. Her stories have covered Houston's vulnerability to hurricanes and torrential rainfall. She has also investigated corruption in Border Patrol, the failures of Texas foster care, and the state's broken indigent defense system. 

72. Patricia WenThe Boston Globe

Patricia is the editor of the Spotlight Team, The Boston Globe's investigative unit that includes six reporters. She took over as editor after working as a reporter on the team for more than two decades. Over the years, she's specialized in covering social service, legal, and medical issues. She's most recently known for serving as a Spotlight editor overseeing the seven-part series on race issues in Boston. 

73. Peggy NoonanThe Wall Street Journal

Formerly a speechwriter and special assistant to President Ronald Reagan from 1984 to 1986, Peggy has since written five books which have all become New York Times bestsellers. She's now a weekly columnist for The Wall Street Journal and a contributor to NBC News and ABC News.

74. Priya AnandBloomberg

Priya is a reporter for Bloomberg Business after a nearly 3-year journey at  The Information where her beat was covering Amazon (the company). She previously covered tech and transportation at BuzzFeed News, where she broke stories on Uber's finances, self-driving car program, and cultural crisis. Before that, she covered cybersecurity in the finance industry for MarketWatch. Her work has appeared in The Wall Street JournalPOLITICO, Bloomberg, and The Houston Chronicle

75. Rachel MaddowMSNBC


Rachel is a political commentator who hosts a nightly television show for MSNBC called The Rachel Maddow Show and serves as the cable network's special event co-anchor. She is the first openly lesbian anchor to host a major prime-time news program in the U.S. Her talk radio program, also called The Rachel Maddow Show, has also aired on Air America Radio

76. Rega JhaBuzzFeed India

Starting as a writer for BuzzFeed in 2013 before moving to Mumbai to launch BuzzFeed India, where she was editor-in-chief until June 2018, Rega dug into a number of topics for the South Asian experience. Her work included an episode on Indian beauty standards framed in the context of "Bollywood Beauty," where she managed to showcase the hypocrisy behind these beauty standards. She's remained an active voice for South Asian women. 

77. Rosemary DonahueAllure

Rosemary is the digital wellness editor at Allure with a passion for writing about mental health, editing reported features and essays, and helping writers craft thoughtful pitches. She's previously worked as the news editor for Brit + Co and as an assistant editor at HelloGiggles

78. Roxane GayAuthor

Roxane is a feminist, queer, and black award-winning journalist and author currently hosting the Hear to Slay podcast at Luminary. Her writing has appeared in Best American Mystery StoriesBest American Short StoriesBest Sex Writing, among others. She's a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times and author of the books "Ayiti, An Untamed State," Bad Feminist, and "Hunger." She's also the author of "World of Wakanda" for Marvel. 

79. Robin RobertsGood Morning America

Robin is an anchor for ABC's Good Morning America. She's previously been a sports anchor for local TV and radio stations before becoming a sportscaster for ESPN for 15 years. Her battle against myelodysplastic syndrome and breast cancer was chronicled on her show, later earning a Peabody award for the coverage. 

80. Rukmini CallimachiThe New York Times

Rukmini has been a foreign correspondent for the Times since 2014, covering Al Qaeda and ISIS. She's an ex-refugee and three-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, including in 2014 for her series of stories based on cache of internal Qaeda documents she discovered in Mali. 

81. Sabrina SiddiquiThe Wall Street Journal

Sabrina was a political reporter for The Guardian before joining The Wall Street Journal as a White House correspondent covering the 2020 election. She has previously written for The Huffington Post and Bloomberg News. She's also a CNN political analyst and frequent commentator on cable TV and radio. 

82. Sacha PfeifferNPR

Sacha is a correspondent for NPR's investigations team and an occasional guest on some of their shows. She was previously on the Spotlight team at The Boston Globe, where she played a huge role in exposing the Catholic Church sex abuse scandal. She was also a senior reporter and host of All Thing Considered and Radio Boston at WBUR Boston

83. Sara O'BrienCNN 

Sara is a writer at CNN Business covering tech and tech culture. She frequently writes about "unicorn" companies and their societal impact, as well as online cultural issues such as harassment and revenge porn. She's done deep dives on issues ranging from sexual assault by ride-hailing drivers to the rise of deep fakes. 

84. Sarah KhanTravel Journalist

Sarah is a travel journalist who has lived in five countries: Canada, Saudi Arabia, India, the U.S., and South Africa. Her bylines have appeared in publications such as The New York TimesThe Wall Street JournalConde Nast TravelerVogue, and more. She's won awards for features including, "A Muslim American's Homecoming," "Eating Bunny Chow in Durban," and "Once a Land of Princes and Palaces." 

85. Sarah KoenigThis American Life

Most known for producing the award-winning podcast Serial, Sarah is a producer for This American Life tackling a number of investigative segments. She began her career as a reporter for The East Hampton Star and then worked in Russia as a reporter for ABC News and later The New York Times

86. Scaachi KoulBuzzFeed

Scaachi is a Canadian culture writer for BuzzFeed Canada and the author of the book of essays, "One Day We'll All Be Dead and None Of This Will Matter." She was one of the reporters in BuzzFeed's Netflix documentary series, Follow This. Her journalism work has appeared in FlareHuffPost CanadaThe Thought CatalogThe Guardian, and others. 

87. Seema ModyCNBC

Seema is a global markets reporter for CNBC, focusing on the intersection of foreign policy and Wall Street. She hosts their digital show, "Futures Now," and a daily segment, "European Close." She first joined the network in 2011 as a reporter covering tech and the IPO market from NASDAQ. She previously was an anchor and reporter at CNBC-TV18 in Mumbai, India where she covered the country's economic boom. 

88. Seung Min KimThe Washington Post

Seung is a White House correspondent for The Washington Post and a political analyst for CNN. She kickstarted her journalism career as a reporter at a number of newspapers including The Des Moines RegisterThe St. Petersburg Times, and The Star-Ledger. She was formerly at USA Today and POLITICO, where she covered the Senate and immigration policy. 

89. Shereen Marisol MerajiNPR

Shereen reports on race for NPR's Code Switch, where her stories center on real people affected by the issues. This work includes everything from a look at why a historically black college in West Virginia is 90% white to a profile of the Latina consumer group in America. She previously worked for the national business and economics radio program, Marketplace.

90. Shirley LeungThe Boston Globe

Shirley is known for her award-winning coverage of the 2008 financial crisis, which occurred while she was a business editor at The Boston Globe. She's now there as a business columnist writing on everything from the intersection of business and politics to gender issues in the workplace. She's also a WGBH contributor for Boston Public Radio and Greater Boston

91. Sonali KolhatkarRising Up

Sonali is the founder and host of Uprising with Sonali, a morning drive time program on KPFK and KPFA. She's also a weekly columnist at Truthdig and writes for teleSUR English. She's authored "Bleeding Afghanistan: Washington, Warlords, and the Propaganda of Silence." 

92. Sophia JonesFuller Project

Sophia is an award-winning journalist and editor focused on gender and global security. Through her reporting on women's role in peace and conflict, she explores how gender dynamics shape our world today. She leads a team of global reporters at The Fuller Project, a journalism nonprofit. Her work has been seen in The New York Times MagazineEllePOLITICOThe Christian Science Monitor, among many others. 

93. Stacey DooleyBBC

Sophia is a journalist and documentary filmmaker who has made social-issue-themed documentaries for BBC Three on topics such as child labor and women in developing countries. She's presented on various BBC shows including Stacey Dooley InvestigatesShow Me What You're Made Of, and Stacey Dooley in the USA. She also authored her book, "Stacey Dooley, On the Front Line with Women Who Fight Back." 

94. Stephanie RuhleMSNBC

Stephanie spent 14 years in the finance industry before joining Bloomberg for a variety of roles including managing editor, news anchor, and editor-at-large. She was one of three Bloomberg reporters who broke the story of the London Whale, identifying the trader behind the 2012 JPMorgan Chase trading loss. She's now an NBC News correspondent and anchor of MSNBC Live with Stephanie Ruhle

95. Tanya BustosInverse

Tanya began her career as a reporter for Dow Jones, then producer for Sirius XM where she produced countless national talk shows and live radio events. As of December 2019, she was a supervising producer and host at The Wall Street Journal, where she was part of the two-person team that created WSJ Podcasts, launching the entire network from the ground up. She is now a supervising producer and host for Inverse podcasts.

96. Tanzina VegaThe Takeaway

Tanzina is the host of The Takeaway, where she reports and speaks on issues of race, media, and inequality in the U.S. and author of the forthcoming book "Uppity." She's contributed to CNNCNNMoneyReuters Television, among others. She was listed in Huffington Post's 40 top Latinos in American media. 

97. Taylor LorenzThe New York Times

Taylor is an internet culture reporter for The New York Times and previously covered these topics at The Atlantic. She writes about the ways technology helps people communicate and connect, which turn into stories about social media, influencers, memes, YouTubers, and communities and norms that exist on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and other emerging platforms.  

98. Terry GrossNPR

Terry has been the host of Fresh Air since 1975, back when it was only broadcasted in Philadelphia. She's known for asking tough questions and being an intelligent interviewer with a roster of guests that The Chicago Tribune dubbed as prized by any talk show. She began her career in 1973 at the public radio station WBFO. She's won a number of awards and authored "All I Did Was Ask: Conversations with Writers, Actors, Musicians, and Artists." 

99. Tina VasquezPrism

Tina was an immigration reporter at Rewire.News, a journalism nonprofit that specializes in reporting on reproductive rights and social justice issues. She formerly contributed to The GuardianJezebel, and Al Jazeera. She's now an assistant research director at P.R.A.

100. Virginia HeffernanWired

Virginia is a journalist and cultural critic who worked as a staff writer at The New York Times before becoming a contributing editor at Wired and columnist at The LA Times Opinion. She was previously a founding editor at Talk and a TV critic for Slate. She authored "Magic and Loss: The Internet as Art." 

101. Yamiche AlcindorPBS

Yamiche is currently a White House correspondent for PBS NewsHour and a political contributor to NBC News and MSNBC. She previously worked as a reporter for USA Today and The New York Times, writing primarily about politics and social issues. 

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