Caitlin Doornbos
Editor and founder of The Correspondent, and a national-security and foreign-policy correspondent based in Washington, DC. She has spent her career on the ground where power is exercised — and in the documents it leaves behind.
“When major international news breaks, my promise is pretty simple: I’ll call the sources. I’ll ask the uncomfortable questions. I’ll tell you what I know, what I don’t and what I think it all means. And whenever I can, I’ll get on the plane.”
A career on the ground.
Editor & Founder
Launched an independent online news desk and twice-weekly video program on foreign policy, global affairs and national security — built around a single correspondent’s read of the world, free of the cable-news theater.
Washington Correspondent
Covered national security and foreign policy from the White House, Pentagon, State Department Congress. Reporting trips to cover wars in Ukraine and Israel — embedding with troops on the frontlines and interviewing officials on both sides.
USA Contributor
Regular paid contributor providing political, cultural and geopolitical analysis of major U.S. news from an American perspective — focused on the White House, foreign relations and U.S. foreign policy.
Pentagon Reporter
The US military newspaper’s sole Pentagon reporter; part of the daily Pentagon press corps, embedding regularly with U.S. Covered forces. Produces photo and video.
Indo-Pacific Correspondent
Covered the Navy’s 7th Fleet at Yokosuka Naval Base with frequent embeds with U.S. forces; wrote critical analysis of China’s rise as a strategic competitor. Mentored military staffers in journalism.
Breaking News Reporter
Covered the aftermath of the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting and its consequences for public safety, contributing to the paper’s 2017 Pulitzer Prize nomination for Breaking News Reporting. Hosted a noon broadcast with Fox 35.
Crime & Courts Reporter
Covered public safety from breaking news to court decisions; launched a popular crime-and-courts column and watchdogged area law enforcement and court officials. Produced photos and video.
M.A., Defense & Strategic Studies — University of Texas at El Paso, 2021
B.S., Journalism — University of Kansas, 2014
· In the field
From the field.
· On assignment — Ukraine, Israel, the Indo-Pacific, and the U.S. southern border
How I work.
Go there
When the story is in a place, the reporter should be too. The ground changes the read.
Show the document
Declassified records, contracts, treaty text. Source material over spin.
Slow down
The important story rarely breaks on a Tuesday. It builds for months. I follow it there.