Tracey Tully

I’m a reporter for The New York Times who covers New Jersey. What I Cover I’m a regional reporter, which means I cover a range of news within a geographic boundary. If it happens in New Jersey, or affects the 9.3 million people who live here, I pay attention. Much of my time is spent focused on breaking news, criminal justice initiatives and state governance, including legislation, lawmakers and people who run for office to represent New Jersey in Trenton or Washington. I often cover events in person, and I spend a lot of time in my car, crisscrossing the state. I am drawn to the odd and the whimsical and am in awe of the vast trove of public documents that are available through open records requests and targeted web searches. Don’t believe everything you think you know about New Jersey. It’s an endlessly fascinating state filled with plenty of unpaved surfaces and well-meaning public servants. My Background I have worked as both a reporter and an editor in New Jersey and New York for more than 30 years. My first journalism job, in 1991, involved covering the tiny township of Weehawken, N.J., and the state’s second-largest community, Jersey City. I went on to cover crime, the court system and New York State government, from Albany, N.Y., and City Hall in New York City. I was born in Elizabeth, N.J., but raised in upstate New York. Since 2000, when the first of my three children was born, my husband and I have lived in New Jersey. I joined The Times in 2018 as an editor; in late 2019, I asked to return to reporting and was thrilled to be told “Yes.” I’m a graduate of Boston College and I taught third grade in the Bronx after college. I was horrible, the kids were spectacular and it was the best two-year graduate education I could ever imagine. Journalistic Ethics My true north as a journalist is to be fair. To me, this means providing readers with necessary context and listening well to the individuals who trust me enough to share their most painful moments or deeply held beliefs with the entire world. I think readers should be invited to enter a story from multiple points of view. And I believe doing that requires me to be aggressively curious. My kids tell me I’m a rule-follower, and I’m grateful that The Times lays out its ethical expectations for its employees clearly, in a handbook. When I make a mistake, tell me. I strive to be accurate, and I believe in admitting error. I make no campaign contributions, and I choose not to register with either major political party, though The Times does not forbid that. I’ll accept a cup of coffee from a potential source, but nothing else, and only if you let me buy you one, too. Contact Me Email: tracey.tully@nytimes.com X: @traceytully WhatsApp: DM me for my number Signal: DM me for my number <br >Anonymous tips: nytimes.com/tips