John Yema - 2008 Fellow

JOHN YEMMA
Deputy Managing Editor
The Boston Globe

In June 2008, John Yemma was appointed editor of The Christian Science Monitor. His job is to lead the newsroom – and Monitor journalists around the world – as it continues its 100-year-old mission of providing thoughtful, humane reporting aimed at helping readers understand the world.

John rejoined the Monitor after 20 years at the Boston Globe, where most recently he was in charge of the Globe’s multimedia news operation.  In that role, he managed the editorial operations of the Globe’s website, Boston.com, and led the newsroom in development of the Globe’s web-video unit, imobile operations, web search, database development, and media partnerships. Day in and day out, his work was to reposition the Globe from its traditional base in print journalism to all aspects of multimedia. That is also central to his work at the Monitor.

In his earlier stint at the Monitor, he worked in the Washington bureau, was a correspondent in the Middle East, and was business editor.

A career journalist, John has often been called on to manage complex projects. He was the Globe’s national political editor, for instance, during the 2004 presidential campaign, coordinating the work of editors and reporters in Boston, Washington, and on the campaign trail. From September 2001 to 2003, he was the Globe’s Sunday editor, and from ’91 to ’96 the Globe's foreign editor, managing staff correspondents in Jerusalem, Moscow, Tokyo, Berlin, Mexico City, and Montreal, and contributing writers around the world.

A 1974 graduate of the University of Texas, he has written about international politics and economic; has reported from regions of the world ranging from China to Central America; and has spent portions of his career concentrating on science, education, and public policy. Besides the Globe and the Monitor, he has worked for the Dallas Morning News, UPI, and the San Antonio Express-News.

In 1994 he was a Reuter Fellow at Oxford University.