James Dao tapped to lead Boston Globe Opinion

James Dao

Boston Globe Media has announced that James Dao has been named the editorial page editor of The Boston Globe. Dao will lead the Globe's Opinion team, one of the highest profile positions at New England's largest media company. He joins an impressive roster of some of America's top journalists and thinkers who have served in this role over the Globe's 150 year history.

Dao, currently the Metro editor at The New York Times, has held numerous reporting and leadership roles over his 30-year career there. Previously, he was the paper's deputy editorial page editor, overseeing the daily Op-Ed section, the Sunday Review, and the international Op-Ed edition. During his tenure, the section won a Pulitzer for a graphic narrative about Syrian refugees.

In announcing the hire, Linda Henry, CEO of Boston Globe Media, said, "We are thrilled to welcome Jim to our team. He will bring a fresh eye to issues and challenges facing this region while adding his insight and vision to our entire organization. Jim has a passion for exploring the ideas and arguments shaping the world today, and an appreciation for the role of opinion journalism. He has an impressive track record of producing ambitious and impactful work and will thoughtfully look for ways to advocate, to progress, to challenge, and to help others use their voices to inform and inspire others."

As Metro editor, Dao managed a staff of more than 60 journalists whose work ranged from the election of a new mayor, the resignation of a three-term governor, a tropical storm that killed more than 40 people, a mass subway shooting and the city's struggle to recover from the pandemic. He has also been the paper's deputy national editor and education editor.

In his role at the Globe, he'll also draw on his long career as a reporter in the trenches. He has served as The Times' Albany bureau chief; covered the 2000 presidential election; been a roving national correspondent; embedded with American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan; and documented veterans struggling with the aftermath of war. His work on a multi-media series about the year-long deployment of an Army battalion during the Afghanistan surge in 2010-11, "A Year at War," won a news Emmy, one of the paper's first.

"The Globe has long been one of the nation's great news organizations," Dao said. "I am thrilled and honored by the opportunity to guide its talented opinion staff during a time of such consequence."

The Boston Globe's editorial board is among the strongest and most vibrant in the country, producing ambitious, innovative multimedia packages that have provoked national conversation and rallied hundreds of fellow boards to defend press freedom. The collective work of the editorial board has held local and national powers to account while championing issues to support and celebrate the communities it serves. Globe Opinion journalists have been recognized as Pulitzer prize finalists in Editorial writing in each of the last two years, producing a powerful series examining the legacy of restrictive housing laws and most recently, a comprehensive series aimed at reforming the American presidency.

Boston Globe Media Partners, LLC ("BGMP") is a multimedia organization that provides news, entertainment and commentary across multiple brands and platforms. Through its properties, BGMP offers leading integrated advertising solutions that connect communities, ideas and causes through powerful storytelling and multimedia experiences. BGMP properties include The Boston Globe, Globe.com, Boston.com, STAT, Globe Publishing Services, Globe Direct, Globe Events and Studio/B.