Jesse Underwood McKinley
(born 1970) is an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
journalist who is currently Albany bureau chief at ''
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 ...
'' and covers the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
.
Early life and education
McKinley grew up in
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...
. He is the son of James C. McKinley, former
University of Missouri, Kansas City
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...
(UMKC) English professor, editor of ''
New Letters
''New Letters'', the name it has been published under since 1970, is one of the oldest literary magazines in the United States and continues to publish award-winning poems and fiction. The magazine is based in Kansas City, Missouri.
History and ...
'', and writer and Mary Ann Underwood, a former continuing education program manager also at UMKC.
McKinley has three siblings: Older brother
James C. McKinley Jr.
James Courtright McKinley Jr. (born 1962) is an American journalist for ''The New York Times''. He is currently an editor on the Metro desk at ''The New York Times'' specializing in criminal justice and law enforcement.
Early life and education
...
is a long-time reporter and is currently an editor on the Metro desk at ''The New York Times'' specializing in criminal justice and law enforcement;
brother Gabe McKinley also worked at ''The New York Times'' for over 12 years and is now a playwright;
and sister Molly McKinley also worked at ''The Times'' before moving into a career in film and television as an editor and writer based out of
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe ( ; , Spanish for 'Holy Faith'; tew, Oghá P'o'oge, Tewa for 'white shell water place'; tiw, Hulp'ó'ona, label=Tiwa language, Northern Tiwa; nv, Yootó, Navajo for 'bead + water place') is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. ...
.
In 1992, McKinley received a
B.F.A. from
New York University Tisch School of the Arts
The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic and media arts school of New York University.
Founded on August 17, 1965, Tisch is a training ground for artists, scholars of the ar ...
, where he was part of the Experimental Theatre Wing.
Career
McKinley has worked at ''
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 various capacities since 1988. When he was in college, his older brother was a reporter at ''The Times'' and got him a job as a copy boy. This led to eventually reporting on local news, covering a shooting at the World Trade Center, the Union Square train accident, and the 1989 anniversary of the
Tompkins Square Park riot (1988)
The Tompkins Square Park riot occurred on August 6–7, 1988 in Tompkins Square Park, located in the East Village and Alphabet City neighborhoods of Manhattan, New York City. Groups of "drug pushers, homeless people and young people known a ...
.
From the early 1990s to the year 2000, McKinley worked as a freelance reporter. From 1994 to 1996, as a freelancer,
McKinley wrote the FYI column for the City Weekly section of ''The New York Times'', where he responded to reader questions about local trivia.
From 1996 to 1997, McKinley worked in San Francisco as a stringer for ''The New York Times'', where he covered 1996's
Proposition 209
Proposition 209 (also known as the California Civil Rights Initiative or CCRI) is a California ballot proposition which, upon approval in November 1996, amended the state constitution to prohibit state governmental institutions from considering r ...
aka California Civil Rights Initiative (CCRI),
the 1997
Heaven's Gate suicides,
and other breaking news.
In 1998, McKinley returned to New York and worked as a freelance reporter in the Culture section, where he covered
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
and wrote the "On Stage and Off" column from 1998 to 2003.
In 2000, McKinley was hired as a full time reporter at ''The New York Times'', continuing to work on content for the Culture section until 2006.
In 2006, McKinley moved back to San Francisco, where he was the San Francisco bureau chief for ''The New York Times''.
During this time, he covered the
2008 California Proposition 8
Proposition 8, known informally as Prop 8, was a California ballot proposition and a state constitutional amendment intended to ban same-sex marriage; it passed in the November 2008 California state elections and was later overturned in cour ...
, a California ballot proposition and a state constitutional amendment that was against
Same-sex marriage in California
Same-sex marriage in California has been legal since June 28, 2013. The U.S. state first issued marriage licenses to same-sex couples on June 16, 2008 as a result of the Supreme Court of California finding in the case of ''In re Marriage Cases'' ...
.
McKinley is currently the Albany bureau chief of ''The New York Times''.
In 2014, McKinley was named as one of the top reporters working out of state capitals.
McKinley regularly appears on the
WAMC
WAMC is a public radio network headquartered in Albany, New York. The network has 12 broadcast radio stations (transmitters) and 16 broadcast relay stations (translators, repeaters). The two flagship stations in the WAMC network are WAMC-FM 90 ...
audio podcast, ''The Capitol Connection'', hosted by Alan Chartock.
During the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, McKinley has attended daily press briefings given by New York Governor
Andrew Cuomo
Andrew Mark Cuomo ( ; ; born December 6, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to the same position that his father, Mario Cuo ...
, covering Cuomo's response to the crisis.
Other work
In 1995, McKinley wrote the "off off Broadway" play called ''Quick Bright Things'', which was loosely based on ''
A Midsummer Night's Dream
''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...
''. He wrote a feature article about the experience for ''The New York Times''.
McKinley was a regular panelist on the Emmy-award winning nationally syndicated talk show about theater called ''
Theater Talk
''Theater Talk'' is an American television talk show about live theater in New York City which aired on Thirteen WNET from 1996 to 2018. It was also syndicated from 2008 to 2018 on public television stations around the country both on TV and onlin ...
'', which aired on
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
and later
CUNY TV
, mottoeng = The education of free people is the hope of Mankind
, budget = $3.6 billion
, established =
, type = Public university system
, chancellor = Fél ...
.
McKinley has appeared in the 2003
FringeNYC
The New York International Fringe Festival, or FringeNYC, was a fringe theater festival and one of the largest multi-arts events in North America. It took place over the course of a few weeks in October, spread on more than 20 stages across seve ...
festival in
Bess Wohl
Bess Wohl is an American playwright, screenwriter, and actress whose plays include ''Grand Horizons'', ''Small Mouth Sounds'', and the book for the musical ''Pretty Filthy'' with composer/lyricist Michael Friedman and The Civilians.
Early life
W ...
's play, ''Cats Talk Back''
and in 2007 appeared in a San Francisco based installment of ''
Literary Death Match
''Literary Death Match'' is a reading series co-created in 2006 by Todd Zuniga, Elizabeth Koch, and Dennis DiClaudio. Each event features four readers who read their own writing for seven minutes or less, and are then critiqued by three judg ...
'' called "Cyrillic Battle to the Death".
Personal life
In 2003, McKinley married Lindsey Gates.
The marriage ended in divorce, which he wrote about in a 2012 piece for ''The New York Times''.
Selected works
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References
External links
Jesse McKinleyat ''
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 ...
''
{{DEFAULTSORT:McKinley, Jesse
Living people
1970 births
Place of birth missing (living people)
American male journalists
The New York Times writers
New York University alumni