Azi Paybarah is a New York-based journalist who focuses on local politics. He worked as a reporter for the ''

New York Press ''New York Press'' was a free alternative weekly in New York City, which was published from 1988 to 2011. The ''Press'' strove to create a rivalry with the ''Village Voice''. ''Press'' editors claimed to have tried to hire away writer Nat Hento ...

'', the ''

Queens Tribune The ''Queens Tribune'' was a free weekly newspaper founded as the monthly ''Flushing Tribune'' in February 1970 by Gary Ackerman. The ''Tribune'' was a member of the New York Press Association. From 1989 to 2002, the paper was owned by News Comm ...

'' and the ''

New York Sun ''The New York Sun'' is an American online newspaper published in Manhattan; from 2002 to 2008 it was a daily newspaper distributed in New York City. It debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of the earlier New York ...

''. In February 2011, Paybarah returned to ''

The New York Observer ''The New York Observer'' was a weekly newspaper printed from 1987 to 2016, when it ceased print publication and became the online-only newspaper ''Observer''. The media site focuses on culture, real estate, media, politics and the entertainmen ...

'' which he had left a few months earlier, where he wrote for the daily blog, The Politicker. In September 2011 he joined the online news publication ''Capital'' as senior writer. Paybarah also hosts a political blog on the website of the local NPR station,

WNYC WNYC is the trademark and a set of call letters shared by WNYC (AM) and WNYC-FM, a pair of nonprofit, noncommercial, public radio stations located in New York City. WNYC is owned by New York Public Radio (NYPR), a nonprofit organization that di ...

Career

At times Paybarah will inform political colleagues or rivals of a controversial statement another politician has made to provoke a reaction. An example of this was when he informed others of congressional candidate

David Weprin David Ira Weprin (born May 2, 1956) is a Democratic member of the New York State Assembly, representing District 24 in Queens since 2010, when he replaced his brother Mark. In the Assembly he has supported progressive causes, such as a surcha ...

's statements in an interview for ''

Vosizneias ''Vos Iz Neias?'' (Yiddish: "What's New?") also called "VIN News" is an online news site that caters to the Orthodox Jewish and Hasidic communities in the United States. Its coverage is primarily focused on the New York metropolitan area and Isr ...

'', one of the largest

Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on M ...

websites in the United States, regarding the marriage equality law which allows gay and lesbian marriages in New York State. In May 2009, Paybarah made headlines for being called "a disgrace" by New York mayor

Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman, politician, philanthropist, and author. He is the majority owner, co-founder and CEO of Bloomberg L.P. He was Mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013, and was a ca ...

for asking about the mayor's rationale for running for a third term. Though later in his campaign, Bloomberg described Paybarah as "brilliant", according to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. In September 2010, he was named one of ''

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

s "40 under 40" for being a young influential member of New York City politics.

References

External links

WNYC BlogThe New York Sun
Author archive.
New York's Boss Hog-Worthy ScamThe Quietest Campaign of AllNew Rules For Smelly Pepsi Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paybarah, Azi University at Albany, SUNY alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American bloggers The New York Observer people New York Press people The New York Sun people Place of birth missing (living people) American people of Iranian descent University of Michigan fellows