Times Insider explains who we are and what we do and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together.
Steven Kurutz has a penchant for telling unusual stories. It’s something he attributes, in large part, to where he was raised: Renovo, a remote town in Pennsylvania with a population of about 1,000.
Growing up in such a tight-knit, isolated community, he developed a kinship with the overlooked and underestimated. He wanted to write the kinds of articles that weren’t traditionally found on the front pages of newspapers and tell the stories of those who lived in “pass-through” places — or those who felt out of place, even in a big city.
That’s why, after nearly three years at Details magazine, Mr. Kurutz began freelancing in 2001 for The New York Times’s City Weekly section, where he wrote about people in Lower Manhattan with uncommon jobs and stories. Then, in 2011, he joined The Times as a full-time reporter on the Home desk, where he covered lifestyle trends. Since 2015, he has written for the Styles section.
Mr. Kurutz’s beat isn’t easily defined, as he’s often drawn to offbeat or unorthodox tales that take his reporting in unexpected directions. (If he had to pin it down, he’d say he explores cultural and social trends, as well as the world of design.) In the last year, he has reported on carnivore bros, workers who care for plants at corporate offices and people who really, really like sticks. One thing all the articles had in common: novelty.
In a recent interview, Mr. Kurutz talked about his reporting role and why he thinks his work resonates with readers. This interview has been edited and condensed.
How did your early career experiences prepare you for your current job?
For the City section, I was writing about real New Yorkers. I felt like I understood the city a bit, that I could credibly and authoritatively write about it. To be in your 20s and have Manhattan below 14th Street as your beat was amazing. I wrote about all sorts of eccentric characters, like a man known as the lawyer of last resort or the leading shoe salesman in the women’s department of Bergdorf Goodman. Any quirky little thing could become a story.
