Rebecca McCray

My Background

I’ve reported on how the criminal justice system touches and shapes the lives of people nationwide for more than a decade, focusing on the lived experiences of people who are incarcerated. I'm interested in how journalists and newsrooms can produce work that better reaches and serves justice-affected communities.

My reporting has been published by New York Magazine, Rolling Stone, Hell Gate, New York Focus and other outlets. As a Fulbright scholar, I conducted independent research in Ljubljana, Slovenia, where I studied the country’s prisons and criminal sentencing practices. I’ll graduate from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY in December 2025.