Meet Laura Gersony
Laura Gersony cites Jeanette Walls’ memoir, The Glass Castle, as what sparked her interest in journalism: The author grows up and writes the news for a living, and Laura realized she wanted to do the same. Laura worked for the student newspaper at the University of Chicago, freelanced before completing her degrees in political science and environmental studies in 2023, and eventually landed an internship with ABC News’ political unit in D.C. From there, Laura joined The Arizona Republic to cover national politics.
Question: Why did you get into political journalism?
My family is extremely politically diverse. I grew up hearing Reagan Republicans argue with centrist-liberals, democratic socialists argue with traditionalist conservatives, and all of them yell at the TV during presidential debates. That background helped me appreciate the importance of having a shared body of facts in a democracy, and having trusted messengers for those facts, whose integrity everyone agrees is beyond reproach.
What is your favorite part about covering national politics as it pertains to Arizona?
There’s a saying that journalists write the “first rough draft of history.” Arizona is a fascinating vantage point for this chapter in American political history, whether it’s the economy and trade, climate change, or the health of U.S. democracy. There is never a dull moment here, and it is a thrilling challenge to write that “first rough draft” every day.
What is being a national politics reporter for The Arizona Republic like? What does a work day look like for you?
I probably spend most of my time gathering materials for stories. That involves assembling facts through interviews and other source material, pulling it all together through research and writing, fact-checking, and then refining the story with my infinitely patient editor, Dan Nowicki.
When I’m not writing, I’m coming up with my next stories. That means reading the news, gossiping with my gracious and well-connected sources to make sure I know the latest, and researching odds and ends to see if something has news value for our readers.
What makes Arizona a fascinating political landscape to cover?
One reason Arizona is interesting is a fluke of statistics. Unlike many other states, we’re pretty evenly split between Republicans, Democrats, and Independents, so our elections can be very competitive, and our votes have an outsize impact on the national balance of power. (Plus, the candidates visit us a lot.)
But if that weren’t enough, Arizona is on the front lines of so many of the big stories of our time. Arizona is seeing some of the most acute impacts of climate change so far; it’s a hub for the effort to revive U.S. semiconductor manufacturing, which is a geostrategic, economic, and political project all in one; it’s seen serious attempts to undermine recent elections; and so much more.
What is your goal for 2024 in terms of serving our readers?
I write as if every member of my politically diverse family is reading over my shoulder. My goal is to earn readers’ trust with every word I write, and to produce reporting that people of different political persuasions cannot deny is fair, rigorous, and revelatory. To me, that means being a watchdog in political money and influence networks, vetting candidates’ backgrounds and asking them tough questions on the campaign trail, and illuminating how politics affects ordinary Arizonans.