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Robert Samuels on Muck Rack

Robert Samuels

Verified
Washington, D.C.
As seen in: The Washington Post, Medium, MSN, The New York Times, Estadão, Nature, Post Outlook, The Guardian, The Independent (UK), TIME, Washington Post Opinions and
Covers:  cultural/race relations, socioeconomics, human interest, youth culture, urbanism, social equality, urban affairs, culture, metro d.c.
Doesn't Cover: education
National enterprise reporter @washingtonpost. Pulitzer winner. Co-author, “His Name is George Floyd.” National Book Award finalist. Skating fan. Medill alum.

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Robert Samuels’s Biography

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Robert Samuels chronicles the life of the District and its suburbs at night for The Washington Post. His interests are broad, but gravitates toward the personal stories that reify our humanity and illuminate the ways we live.

Robert loves reading good journalism as much as he loves attempting to write good journalism, happens to be a figure skating expert and is a failing amateur gymnast.

Robert Samuels’s Journalist Portfolio

Dark world of prostitution turns to the day

Dark world of prostitution turns to the day

The client had found her on backpage.com, where she promoted herself as a busty woman in College Park eager f…

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Intersections: 18th Street and Columbia Road NW: When the man fell off the roof

Intersections: 18th Street and Columbia Road NW: When the man fell off the roof

As he puffed a Newport outside the McDonald's at the intersection of 18th Street and Columbia Road NW, the ze…

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The Harlem Shake: Keep the meme, save the dance

The Harlem Shake: Keep the meme, save the dance

A little more than a decade ago, a nerdy, lanky black teenager from the Bronx stood in front of a mirror in h…

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In Newtown, tragedy tinges holiday tradition

In Newtown, tragedy tinges holiday tradition

If there was ever a time for a little Christmas, his parents resolved, it was now. The second thoughts came i…

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Bloomingdale floods expose sewer systems strained by development

Bloomingdale floods expose sewer systems strained by development

But a problem lay underneath. As developers have added connections to the sewer lines to serve basement apart…

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Articles

Black unemployment rises while White unemployment stays stable

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By Lydia Sidhom, Robert Samuels Verified
| The Washington Post Verified
Black unemployment rises while White unemployment stays stable (washingtonpost.com) Black unemployment rises while White unemployment stays stable By Lydia Sidhom; Robert Samuels 2026070219320300 In the first half of the year, Black unemployment continued to rise while White employment remained stable, according to a Washington Post analysis of federal data released Thursday.
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Four Black women. Nine degrees. Not one steady paycheck.

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By Robert Samuels Verified, Lydia Sidhom
| Yahoo Verified
LITTLE ROCK - Kia Mills kept her latest diploma in a bag stuffed in her closet. The expensive piece of paper had little use as she uploaded yet another résumé while sitting on her gray couch on a recent gray day, a lone candle lit on her coffee table. “Part-time customer service agent,” the description read, $16.61 an hour. “Some money is better than no money,” sighed Mills, 35. She picked up her phone to text her friend, Aaliyah McShane.
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Four takeaways on Black unemployment in Trump’s economy

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By Robert Samuels Verified
| The Washington Post Verified
Four takeaways on Black unemployment in Trump’s economy (washingtonpost.com) Four takeaways on Black unemployment in Trump’s economy By Robert Samuels 2026062810012900 Earlier this spring, I spent time in Little Rock reporting on a group of four friends, all women, who have unexpectedly found themselves facing the same problem: They're Black, educated and unemployed.
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Interview

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How is social media changing news?

It's made news, and celebrity, more democratic

How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?

E-mail, primarily. Or a phone call.

What tools and software do you use to do your job?

Twitter; Facebook; Methode; the telephone

Awards

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Livingston Award

2014 - Local (finalist)

Named finalist in local for story examining the failure of the New Communities Initiative to deliver affordable housing, leading to the prolonged delay of 211 families returning to their home.s.

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Society of Professional Journalists Award

2009 - Florida Young Journalist of the Year
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Pulitzer Prize

2010 - Breaking News (finalist)

A part of the Miami Herald team that was a finalist covering the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.

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Pulitzer Prize

2014 - Breaking news (finalist)

Part of Washington Post team that reported on mass shooting at Navy Yard.

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Hearst Journalism Award

2005 - Best Reporting Technique
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Hearst Journalism Award

2006 - Finalist, National Writing Championship

Two-time finalist in National Writing Championship. Between 2005 and 2006, also won honors in Feature Writing (2nd Place), Profile Writing (2nd Place), Sports Writing (2nd Place), In-depth Reporting (19th Place), Spot News (15th Place)

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