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Portrait of Gail Collins

Gail Collins

I’ve always tried to use humor to get readers interested in the political issues of the day — or in the current era, maybe just less depressed.

After graduate school in Massachusetts, I moved to Connecticut, where my husband had a job in New Haven. Couldn’t find a regular reporting gig, so I contacted all the weekly and small daily papers to see if they wanted coverage of their state legislators. At the time, there were tons of potential clients — most closed now, alas. I wound up sending several stories a week to each of them, giving me a good background in state government and extremely speedy typing skills.

I moved on to cover local government for United Press International and New York Newsday. I joined The Times in 1995 as an editorial board member, then columnist, then editorial page editor. I left that wonderful job to go back to writing columns. I’ve also written a bunch of books, most on women’s history.

Most politicians and other sources I’ve dealt with have been aware of The Times’s strong honor code, and I can’t, to be honest, remember any unethical offer that was even vaguely tempting.

Don’t think I’ve ever sought out any personal favors from politicians, except an ongoing attempt to get the city to fix the broken sidewalk on my block. And I’m proud to say that after years of effort, the cracks are still there.

Latest

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    Gail Collins

    Poor Nikki, Poor Us

    Nikki Haley is the only thing saving us from a full year of just Trump vs. Biden.

    By Gail Collins

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    Gail Collins

    Take That, America

    The Iowa caucuses are over, but we have all of 2024 ahead of us.

    By Gail Collins

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    The Conversation

    Trump May Not Need a Coup This Time

    The new Times/Siena poll is to Biden’s second-term ambitions what sunlight is to morning fog.

    By Gail Collins and Bret Stephens

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    The Conversation

    Once Again You Lose Me at the Wall

    The wall isn’t very useful at stopping migrants, but it’s great as a symbol of our worst impulses.

    By Gail Collins and Bret Stephens

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    Gail Collins

    No Time Like the Present, Senator Feinstein

    The country shouldn’t discriminate against older workers, and older workers shouldn’t insist on staying in jobs they can no longer really carry out.

    By Gail Collins

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    The Conversation

    Trump Cannot Be Unseen

    Just when you thought things couldn’t get stranger or sadder.

    By Gail Collins and Bret Stephens

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