NY Times hires Yaffe-Bellany to cover crypto and fintech

New York Times business editor Ellen Pollock sent out the following announcement on Wednesday:

We’re thrilled to announce that David Yaffe-Bellany is rejoining The New York Times to cover the fast-growing and fast-evolving world of crypto and fintech.

David is well known to many of us after his hugely successful fellowship stint at The Times from 2019 to 2020. During that time, he covered the food industry and wrote about everything from the rise of virtual restaurants and the Popeyes chicken sandwich craze to the black market for authentic Scottish haggis. He also helped lead coverage of the pandemic’s impact on the food industry and broke news about Carlos Ghosn’s escape from Japan.

Michael Corkery, who worked closely with David, calls him “a monster talent, who finds amazing anecdotes and knows how to tell a good story. He works the phones and knocks on doors and never gives up until he finds what he’s looking for. He’s dogged and cool under pressure.”

Most recently, David covered courts and the legal industry for Bloomberg, writing magazine features for Businessweek about the travails of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and efforts to deprogram right-wing extremists. Before The Times fellowship, David interned at The Texas Tribune, where his work came highly recommended.

David, who will be based in San Francisco, starts the job in January. Please join us in welcoming him back.