About Salena Zito

Salena Zito

Salena Zito

Salena Zito joined the Washington Examiner in 2016 as a Western Pennsylvania-based columnist and reporter covering national politics and culture. She is also a weekly columnist at the New York Post, contributes to The Wall Street Journal and co-authored “The Great Revolt: Inside the Populist Coalition Reshaping American Politics” with Brad Todd. In 2018, she won first place for her columns in the Associated Press for her coverage of American politics, and she also won the Barbara Olson award for excellence and independence in journalism.

She has taught journalism at the Harvard Institute of Politics, Washington and Lee University, and Hillsdale College.

She has interviewed every president, vice president and candidate who sought their party’s nomination on both sides of the aisle in the 21st century.

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Appalachian Awakening: Rewriting American Music Culture Jun 30, 2026

AVERY COUNTY, North Carolina — If there is such a thing as the classic Appalachian success story, the rise in popularity of the outside-the-box band Cigarettes @ Sunset would be that story. But nothing comes easy in Appalachia. The five-member... Read More

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Ghost of Alexis de Tocqueville Returns -- What America Can Learn From Him Jun 23, 2026

LUZERNE COUNTY, Pennsylvania — Over the Flag Day weekend in Pennsylvania, crowds gathered, and communities were formed in the most unlikely of places, under viaducts, along gravel-filled tracks and at the base of some impressive Appalachian mou... Read More

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'It's Only a Matter of National Security': America's Workforce Academy's Mission to Fill the Workforce Gap Jun 16, 2026

Mike Rowe has been on a lonely mission. For two decades, he has been raising the alarm. Rowe has been warning anyone who would listen that our skills gap in the trades was widening to a chasm so large that the economic effect on U.S. manufacturing co... Read More

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Qintel Puts Pittsburgh on the Map for Cyber Intelligence Jun 09, 2026

PITTSBURGH — Western Pennsylvania's leadership in AI, robotics and cyber intelligence companies that work with the Department of War was reinforced recently. Qintel was selected for an $84 million contract with the United States Cyber Command t... Read More