Veteran Seattle Times business reporter Paul Roberts is now covering pandemic-era economic recovery as part of a $1 million grant from Microsoft Philanthropies.
Roberts will focus on downtown Seattle, neighborhood and suburban business districts, and the intersection with local governments.
He joined the paper in September 2018. Before that, Roberts was a freelance journalist who wrote about a wide range of topics — business, politics, economics, science, and social issues. His work has appeared in dozens of publications, including Outside Magazine, Rolling Stone, The Seattle Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, Harpers, The New Republic, and National Geographic.
He also worked at The Seattle Weekly and the Fayetteville (North Carolina) Observer as a reporter.
The reporting remains under the independent editorial control of The Seattle Times and will be labeled for transparency. The grant funds three positions for three years.
