Alyssa Rosenberg

Alyssa Rosenberg is a staff correspondent at Government Executive where she covers the federal work force. She writes regularly for National Journal and The New Republic.

Recent Articles


By Alyssa Rosenberg Dude, given that Ta-Nehisi Coates and his readers appointed Lando Calrissian as the Official Black Spokesman and are looking for "One Caucasian Who Speaks For You All," how can there be any possible choice other than Princess Leia Organa? The cinnamon buns are possibly the whitest hairstyle of all time. She's tough, she's decisive, she's principled, she's strong in the Force and a rockin' New Republic politician, and she and Lando can spar and then go out and absolutely wreak some havoc on slug-like crime lords. Okay, she is lame enough to take Han's name when she marries him after he kidnaps her and takes her on the worst romantic getaway ever . But even with that in the balance, Princess Leia can speak for me any time.


By Alyssa Rosenberg I'm sure there will be a lot of people writing over the next days and weeks about Jerome Corsi's latest attack book, but this line in the New York Times story stood out to me: "Fact-checking the books can require extensive labor and time from independent journalists, whose work often trails behind the media echo chamber." It's incredible to me that fact-checking basically isn't something you do yourself any more, that quality control is now something that comes after the fact. I know it's expensive and time-consuming, but it's eminently worth it. My first job after college was as National Journal 's fact-checker, and while I was in college, I worked in the history and current events division at Yale University Press , where fact-checking wasn't a regular part of the editorial process, and copy-editing was subcontracted out to freelancers who had relationships with the Press. While at NJ, I did some freelance fact-checking for an author on staff who was writing a...


By Alyssa Rosenberg The murder of the Arkansas Democratic Party Chairman this afternoon is shocking, and tragic, particularly during an election season that's seen such a rise in participation and enthusiasm. I'll just echo my Atlantic Media colleague Marc Ambinder : In the United States, in our open republic, party offices and campaign offices are open offices, welcoming volunteers and supporters and enthusiasts. That's the way it should be. Those of us in political journalism feel a kinship with anyone who makes their living in the world of politics.


By Alyssa Rosenberg W has a look at the new Comme des Garçons line for H&M, and while the commenters on New York's Cut blog don't so much love what they're seeing, I think everything with polka dots in the center, and the blue jacket are adorable. But more than that, I am psyched that Rei Kawakubo ($, sorry) is going to make her way into a lot of American wardrobes. I'm not the most fashionable woman in the universe. Most of my clothes come from Gap and Banana Republic sale racks. But I find Comme des Garçons clothes incredibly beautiful, and I think the way Kawakubo talks about her designs is compelling: "I only came to Paris with the intention of showing what I thought was strong and beautiful. It just so happened that my notion was different from everybody else's," she has said of her first, highly controversial, Paris show. When I went to Japan earlier this year, I found myself at the label's flagship store in Aoyama, fronted by a polka-dotted glass wave and...


By Alyssa Rosenberg No one's going to prove that the members of the Chinese women's gymnastic team who won gold last night are underage at this point. And no one's going to deny that they are phenomenally talented. Even if someone did prove they were underage, it wouldn't prevent China from keeping them on extremely tough training schedules where they see their families once a year. But it amazes me that Harvey Araton can write a column about how young the Chinese team is without writing about precisely why the age limits are what they are particularly in gymnastics, or Jennifer Sey, who blasted the cultures of eating disorders and abuse in gymnastics, can say she hopes the Chinese team wins because the medals will make up for it. The golds they won tonight may make life better for those girls, but it just rewards China's strategy. More young girls will follow them into the spotlight, and the expectations for them will be immense.