Helene Cooper

I cover national security issues for The New York Times.

What I Cover

I write about national security with a focus on the Pentagon and the U.S. military. These days the war in Ukraine has been a principal focus, but topics can range from faraway conflicts to U.F.O.s. It is, bar none, the best beat in Washington.

My Background

I was born in Monrovia, Liberia, and moved to the United States in 1980. I decided I wanted to be a journalist when I read “All the President’s Men” in the 11th grade. I have a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and have worked for three newspapers: The Providence Journal, The Wall Street Journal and The Times. I have won two George Polk awards and one Pulitzer Prize. I am the author of “The House at Sugar Beach: In Search of a Lost African Childhood,” a New York Times best seller, and “Madame President: The Extraordinary Journey of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf,” a Washington Post best seller, both published by Simon & Schuster.

Journalistic Ethics

As a Times journalist, I share the values and adhere to the standards of integrity outlined in The Times’s Ethical Journalism handbook. Reporters who write about national security often handle classified information, and we must work to decide what makes sense to report and what doesn’t. It’s a daily juggling act. For instance, I may not report on a coming raid by American special operations troops because publication of that information could harm said troops. There are times, however, when we must weigh the public’s right to know versus the government’s desire for secrecy.

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