Michelle Ye Hee Lee | |
|---|---|
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| Born | (1988-06-13)June 13, 1988 (age 36)[1] |
| Citizenship | American |
| Alma mater | Emory University |
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Years active | 2006–present |
| Employer | The Washington Post |
Michelle Ye Hee Lee (born June 13, 1988) is an American journalist who is theTokyobureau chief ofThe Washington Post as of 2020. She previously served as the president of theAsian American Journalists Association.[2]
Lee was born in 1988 inSeoul. She and her mother immigrated to the United States in 1995, initially settling inWarren, Ohio before moving toGuam, where she spent much of her childhood. Lee became interested in journalism after attending a writing camp atDuke University. At the age of 15, she worked as an intern withPacific Daily News through the "VIBE" high-school internship program. She attended and graduated from theAcademy of Our Lady of Guam, an all-girls Catholic high school inHagåtña.[3][4]
In 2008, she was an intern atCreative Loafing, anAtlanta-based publisher of a monthly arts and culture newspaper/magazine. A year later, she became an intern atChicago Tribune. She graduated fromEmory University with aBachelor's degree inInternational Studies andEnglish in 2010. During her time in Emory, she served as editor-in-chief of the student newspaperThe Emory Wheel from 2009 to 2010. She was naturalized as aU.S citizen in 2011.[5]
After graduation from university, Lee served as government accountability reporter withThe Arizona Republic, where she covered public money, regulatory loopholes and state and county politics ofArizona. For the reporting ofYarnell Hill Fire in 2013, Lee and her staff atthe Arizona Republic were finalists for the2014 Pulitzer Prize. For her investigation into Arizona's failures in tracking and monitoring homelesssex offenders, she was named a finalist for theLivingston Awards for Young Journalists.[6][7][8]
In 2014, she joinedThe Washington Post and wrote for theWashington Post "Fact Checker", which rates statements by politicians, usually on a range of one to fourPinocchios – with one Pinocchio for minor shading of the facts and four Pinocchios for outright lies.[9][10] If the statement is truthful, the person will get a rare "Geppetto".[11][12] In 2017 Lee left thefact-checking team and moved to thePost's political enterprise and investigations section, where she covered money and influence inAmerican politics.[10]
WithThe Washington Post, she reported on the2018 North Korea–United States Singapore Summit from Seoul.[13] Lee is currently a member of theInvestigative Reporters and Editors and lectured students at a local high school through Press Pass Mentors program.[14]
In 2017, she was elected as the President of theAsian American Journalists Association (AAJA), which is a membership nonprofit responsible for advancing diversity in newsrooms, and ensuring fair and accurate coverage of communities of color. In August 2020, Lee was re-elected to serve as the President of AAJA for a second term. She served this position till 2022 and was succeeded byNicole Dungca.[15][14][16]
In December 2020, she was appointed asTokyobureau chief ofThe Washington Post. The assignment carries responsibility of reporting onJapan, North Korea and South Korea.[17]