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devon haynie us news foreign policy international security

Coffee With Devon Haynie

Words: Laicie Heeley
Pictures: Holson House
Date:

Over the past few weeks, I’ve caught myself repeating the same words an alarming number of times… foreign, as if from a far-off land where contrived banalities and clichés are brilliant turns of phrase.

“Well, I’m a mom, so… [insert totally emotional and not-so-complex policy analysis here]”

It’s ridiculous, but somehow, entirely relevant not just to sex scandals and school shootings, but also to the concept of conflict, itself.

And I can’t help but feel a kinship with parents and soon-to-be parents who might also have experienced this kid coup in their brain.

Devon Haynie is the news editor on US News & World Report’s international news team, coordinating freelance coverage of Latin America and Africa. She also reports and produces her own stories and has more than a decade of journalism experience.

Devon is truly impressive, and her project at US News is even moreso — an oasis of honest international storytelling in a news cycle that can rarely engage beyond a hot take.

And when we sat down to talk, Devon was preparing to welcome her first child into the world. So, we talked about kids.

We also talked about Stranger Things. And how she busted her ass and took risks to get to where she is.

Devon’s daughter, Isabel, was born in January.

And, so far, she’s getting along just fine with the giant cats.

devon haynie us news foreign policy international security
US News is known for its rankings. So, what we do is we put surveys out all over the world. And we ask people what they think about their country and other countries — so we'll ask them what they think are the best countries for women, entrepreneurship, business, etc. It's a totally perception-based survey — but then it comes back and our partners do the number crunching and come up with a perception-based ranking.
devon haynie us news foreign policy international security
I am on the editorial team, which is separate. Our coverage is completely editorially independent. Sometimes the survey results can lead to interesting story ideas. But that's our business model — and that has allowed us to start the international news team at a moment when a lot of other online publications are having to really cut back international coverage. So, it's a pretty exciting time to be doing this. I feel like, in some ways, some of the other publications' losses have become our gains, because what we've found is there are a lot of really talented foreign correspondents out there looking for work.
devon haynie us news foreign policy international security
I went to a small liberal arts college called Colgate in upstate New York. And it did not have a journalism major. That wasn't the kind of thing that was offered. I actually was a peace studies major. So I was really interested in conflict and ethnic conflicts in particular. When I would daydream in college it would be about reporting on those kinds of issues.
devon haynie us news foreign policy international security
So I graduated from college, and I went to Albania for a couple of months. It was one of those things where senior year there were fellowships available, and I was familiar with the Balkan wars. Moreso, Kosovo and Bosnia — I didn’t know as much about Albania.
devon haynie us news foreign policy international security
Honestly it was funny because at the time, I think we got it and we were excited. But we were finishing up everything, our final papers, and we just… didn't get a chance to research it much. I mean, there certainly wasn’t a Lonely Planet Albania… so, we kind of showed up not knowing what we were getting into.
devon haynie us news foreign policy international security
It was very, very eye opening. Fascinating. Little traumatizing. I can probably go back now, but I needed like fifteen years of distance.
devon haynie us news foreign policy international security
Then I moved to DC — It was a really fascinating time to be here. For nerds. Which, many of us in DC are. But it was 2003, so it was the Iraq War and Paul Bremer. And just… so much going on. It was right before everything exploded.
devon haynie us news foreign policy international security
I do think that there's something about the energy [in DC]. Feeling like you're part of something larger. And I think there's something about the people here — how engaged and informed they are, how interesting their jobs at least can be — that I really like.
devon haynie us news foreign policy international security
When we go back to Indiana, my husband is like, “Oh my god. I don't hear cars. I hear birds. What is this?” He always kind of freaks out a little bit, because he’s from Buenos Aires – and then here. And so we just enjoy the peace and quiet and it's nice. It's not quiet here.
devon haynie us news foreign policy international security
I’d say that I’m able to communicate… I don't know that I'm able to communicate well. But I feel like for me communication is a victory, and I can understand a lot now. So when his mom comes to visit – she’s totally great – but sometimes when she wakes up in the morning and she's tired, she’ll just speak to me in Spanish. And it's at the point where I have a clue what she’s saying now. Thank God.
devon haynie us news foreign policy international security
I was covering education at a newspaper in Indiana before I came to US News to be an education reporter there. Some of the higher-ups knew I had an international background and interest. And so [this new position] ended up being a good fit.
devon haynie us news foreign policy international security
I actually don’t watch that much tv. And I feel like since I don't, I should be able to tell you something like, “Well, I spent the last two years re-reading the classics. But, that's not happening.
devon haynie us news foreign policy international security
I just like walking around DC — I like walking around the neighborhood, because it’s changing so quickly. I live in Shaw. So, every time we go for a walk there's some new coffee shop or restaurant or bar that’s popped up. And that’s sort of exciting — being a tourist in your own city.
devon haynie us news foreign policy international security
I also have two gigantic cats who I like to spend time with. One of them is a kitten. He’s eight months old, he's a Maine Coon, and he's now bigger than our other cat who we think is maybe half Maine Coon. He's just going to be a giant. Leon and Baxter.
devon haynie us news foreign policy international security
I will at least have three months if not four months [of maternity leave]. You know, you talk to a lot of friends who've had six weeks. And then, being on this international news team where we do stories about women's issues and family friendly countries. We've written about the leave policies in lots of other countries. And when you compare how things are in the states to how things are in Norway or Sweden or Finland. Or Australia or Canada. The list goes on. That can be pretty depressing. So, I do feel lucky. But it has made me more aware of the struggles other women are facing.
devon haynie us news foreign policy international security
I just think it's kind of weird. I mean, it’s fine. It's interesting. I find it interesting. Do you watch Stranger Things? It’s fun if you’re a child of the 80s — the 80s aesthetic is really strong they totally nailed it and it brings you back. It's really Goonies-esque. Anyway, I bring that up because there's an alternative world in that show called The Upside Down. They are like different creatures and everything's very different and I sort of feel like I have an Upside Down in me right now. It’s a totally different universe in there. When she moves it’s exciting but it’s also a little bit out of a horror movie. Like, in Alien, a creature just busts out of your stomach. I mean. It's sort of strange.
devon haynie us news foreign policy international security
I think sometimes with kids, they just have this confidence. They're just comfortable with their thoughts and it comes out so well. You’re like, “Oh man… that’s great.” Whereas now I'm sort of talking and I talk and I self edit and I'm a little bit too in my head. I listen to some of those 13-year-olds and I’m like, “Oh man, you’re knockin’ it out of the park. I’m gonna take lessons from you.”
Author bio

Laicie Heeley

Editor in Chief

Laicie Heeley is the founding CEO of Inkstick Media, where she serves as Editor in Chief of the foreign policy magazine Inkstick and Executive Producer and Host of the PRX- and Inkstick-produced podcast, Things That Go Boom. Heeley’s reporting has appeared on public radio stations across America and the BBC, where she’s explored global security issues including domestic terrorism, disinformation, nuclear weapons, and climate change. Prior to launching Inkstick, Heeley was a Fellow with the Stimson Center’s Budgeting for Foreign Affairs and Defense program and Policy Director at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation. Her publications include work on sanctions, diplomacy, and nuclear arms control and nonproliferation, along with the first full accounting of US counterterrorism spending after 9/11.

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  • Why do local governments keep handing out tax breaks to defense contractors… even when the promised jobs don’t materialize? In the first episode of our new season, reporter Taylor Barnes takes us deep into the Utah desert, where Northrop Grumman is building the next generation of intercontinental ballistic missiles with the help of massive state[...]
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