Katy Stech Ferek

About Katy Stech Ferek

I\'m a Congressional reporter at The Wall Street Journal\'s bureau in Washington, D.C. I previously covered the intersection of policy and business, focusing on climate and energy issues under the Biden administration and on national security and international trade under the Trump administration. I started at WSJ covering financial hardship — that is, the corporate and personal bankruptcy systems. My stories uncovered the unintended consequences of federal bankruptcy policy on student loan borrowers, homeowners and the poor. I love public court records and have tricks for searching them, which I have shared at past IRE conferences. Despite my proud accountability reporting, I will always be known for breaking the bankruptcy filings of rapper 50 Cent, Dippin’ Dots and Girls Gone Wild.I began my career at The Charleston (S.C.) Post and Courier, where I covered the ways that state legislature’s influence on business and employees, notably uncovering in 2009 a mistake by South Carolina lawmakers that meant thousands of out-of-work residents were missing out on weekly employment benefits. My taxbreak investigation into state and local incentives that were promised to Boeing Co. for building a 787 assembly line there won the state press association’s top award for public service journalism. My story about the rescue of a furniture store worker from a deadly fire won the South Carolina Press Association’s ‘Best Short Story’ award in 2007. Tips? Story ideas? Reach me at k••••••••@wsj.com

Experience

1. Congress Reporter

   The Wall Street Journal

   Sep 2022 — Present

Education

• Syracuse University

  Newspaper major, S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications

  2002 — 2005

Skills

• Ap Style
• News Writing
• Journalism
• Headline Writing
• Newspaper