For the third installment of a multi-part series profiling each of the Pritzker Fellows for the Institute of Politics (IOP) for the winter and spring quarters, The Maroon spoke with political columnist and analyst Matthew Yglesias about his time as a writer and journalist and the influence of mainstream media on policy making.

Yglesias earned his bachelor’s degree from Harvard University in 2003. During his time as a student, Yglesias developed a passion for writing and politics, which he eagerly pursued. He recalls that one of the highlights of his college experience was listening to speakers at Harvard’s Institute of Politics.

Yglesias’s love for writing led him to contribute opinion articles to the Harvard Independent, a weekly newspaper produced by undergraduate students. Yglesias eventually rose to the position of editor-in-chief before graduating magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy.

“I really kind of thought when I was in school…that I would get a job on the other side of the political media, where I would write speeches or do communications or something like that, but it’s hard to get those jobs if you’re a student,” Yglesias said.

Today, Yglesias is widely recognized for his writing and political commentary. He is a regular contributor to publications and media outlets, including Vox, which he cofounded.

Yglesias shared his insight on building a career in politics, emphasizing the role of timing and chance. In contrast to other fields such as consulting and tech, politics operates on a more unpredictable and fluid basis, where opportunities arise on an ad hoc basis.

“Jobs become open when they’re open, you’ve got to apply when you can apply. It’s something I think kids who are interested in public service struggle with,” he said.

According to Yglesias, aspiring politicians often face the challenge of navigating this uncertain terrain, which can require both persistence and a willingness to take risks. He adds that this can be especially difficult for students who are interested in pursuing public service, as they may need to balance the demands of their education with staying informed about emerging opportunities.

Yglesias’s reflections underscored the importance of understanding the dynamics of a given industry, being prepared to adapt, and taking advantage of opportunities as they arise. Yglesias considered starting a company in Washington, D.C., post-graduation but became a writing fellow at The American Prospect, a progressive political and public policy magazine, instead.

“I thought [working at The American Prospect] would be an interesting thing to do,” Yglesias said. “I didn’t sign up for that job with the mentality of ‘this will be my whole life,’ and that was in 2003. So now, 20 years later, all I’ve done is live in D.C. and do digital political journalism, but that wasn’t like a life plan.”

Yglesias decided to become an IOP fellow because he sees an opportunity to further develop his skills while sharing his experiences with students. Yglesias regards this juncture as another critical step in his career.

“There’s an incredible amount of discourse about colleges these days, and I was really curious to sort of learn [and] to hear what students’ perspectives are,” Yglesias said. “It’s really a two-way [street]. I hope to be helpful to anyone who comes to office hours, but I’m also here to report and to learn.”

Yglesias feels that ultra-leftist discourse has come to characterize many elite universities. He expressed concern that this political imbalance may harm younger generations and appreciates the University for taking steps to promote free speech.

“I mean, every day, there’s people my age and older arguing about cancel culture, left wing indoctrination, and stuff like that,” Yglesias said. “Chicago is a bit of an outlier in that context, but that makes it interesting… I think it’s a college campus that has made a considerable effort from the top down to try to be less of a monolithically left-wing group than most prestigious colleges.”

Yglesias emphasized the value of providing office hours to aspiring journalists as an opportunity to engage with and learn from professionals who may be slightly daunting to approach. Drawing upon his own experiences as an undergraduate student at Harvard’s Institute of Politics, Yglesias spoke to the importance of stepping outside one’s comfort zone and engaging with politicians in a student-friendly environment. He discussed the potential for these interactions to broaden one’s perspectives and deepen one’s understanding of complex political issues.

“This is an event for students. Students come to my office hours, they come to the seminar, and it’s understood that this is part of their educational experience, compared to the professors who weren’t giving you a test or a grade. It’s just learning, which is good, and I think that helps. I mean, hopefully, you’ve learned something from it, but also, hopefully, you gain, or I feel like I gained some measure of wisdom. It’s all just about interacting with people, talking, and having conversations where you don’t know everything, and that’s okay.”

Yglesias emphasized the value of learning from other IOP fellows with unique perspectives, as well as the value of their interactions with students in a more informal setting.

Having been a fellow for several months now, Yglesias feels he has gained a deeper understanding of the complexity of individual stories, as well as the ways in which people’s beliefs and priorities can shift over time. This experience reinforced his commitment to maintaining an open mind and recognizing that not all experiences or contexts are the same.

“It has been interesting to work with Beto [O’Rourke] and Pete [Meijer] and Adrian [Perkins] and learn just like the students can all learn from them,” Yglesias said. “I’ve gotten to talk to them a little more informally than I normally would as a reporter. I’ve got to eavesdrop a little bit, what they say to students, which is interesting.… One thing that you get, hopefully part of the benefit of experience, is you see individual stories, but you also see their sort of compilation, and not everything goes in the same direction. It turns out [that] some people’s true selves, once they’re out of politics, are more progressive than their political personas. It’s the opposite for others. The context depends.”

When asked about his experiences as a reporter and blogger, and how he has handled negative responses to his political opinions, Yglesias emphasized the significance of speaking one’s truth and remaining resolute in the face of criticism.

“You can say something that has actually been well-received by most people, but you still might have hundreds of people yelling at you, right? Because that’s life, and that’s how it goes, and I think it’s made some people in journalism too cautious in the sense of being careful with your work, but being too hesitant to say what they think or lead facts where they will have controversy. I really admire what I understand about [UChicago’s] principal concept in terms of trying to create a campus environment where people sort of ‘mix it up,’ and I think that’s good and important in the media and in journalism as well.”

Yglesias, despite having witnessed several significant changes in the presentation of news media and political reporting during his career, remains optimistic and encourages students to embrace such shifts. He believes that despite the evolution of these fields, the essence of uncovering and chasing a good lead remains intact, and he urges aspiring journalists to recognize this and adapt to the constantly changing landscape of media and politics.

“The media landscape has obviously altered a lot in this time period. I will say that it’s changed a lot in terms of what people do. The kind of skills [that] are valued shifts, but do their [core] elements stay constant? I mean, this whole time getting a scoop that people didn’t know before has been something that is really valuable. There’s a combination of being flexible and understanding that the fundamentals of writing—the presentation, information, and gathering what I know—has carried us all pretty far.”