Yemma to lead Christian Science Monitor

John Yemma, the deputy managing editor for multimedia at The Boston Globe, was named editor of The Christian Science Monitor today.

Yemma, 55, will replace Richard Bergenheim, who will become editor at large.

When he takes charge of the Monitor in two weeks, Yemma will be returning to a newspaper where he worked for much of the 1980s. “In a sense, it's going back to my roots,’’ Yemma said. “I’m very excited about the opportunity to lead a newsroom and also reposition the newsroom and the organization.’'

The future of the Monitor has been a topic of speculation recently. As it prepares to celebrate its 100th year of publication in November, the newspaper, like many others, has been buffeted by declining circulation -- down to 56,000, after peaking at 230,000 in the early 1970s -- and by questions about its role in an era when many readers get their news online. Managing publisher Jonathan Wells has acknowledged that the Monitor is exploring a “weekly product’’ but has not said whether a weekly publication would complement or replace the daily paper.

Yemma said yesterday he knows only that “a lot of things are being studied’’ by the Monitor, but added that he considers it vital to have a “robust multimedia strategy that includes not just a website but a very deep commitment to an Internet presence.’’

“The challenge for the Monitor is the same challenge every news organization has, which is to figure out a way to preserve the core journalistic mission at a time when the whole industry is going through these profound changes,’’ he said. Yemma made it clear he considers coverage of international news, long a Monitor hallmark, to be part of that core mission.

Yemma has been in charge of the editorial operations at Boston.com, and has been involved in the Globe's development of online video and other new-media ventures. He has also played a key role in enlisting Globe reporters and editors in multimedia efforts.

“He is among our most versatile editors and among our most effective. And, without doubt, among our most liked,’’ Globe editor Martin Baron said in an e-mail to staffer members.

Baron said that Yemma “has led a transformation in our own newsroom, and he brought to that task his trademark diplomacy but also unwavering determination. While all of us know there is much still to do, we have come a remarkably long way in understanding what the new-media environment requires of us and in actually doing what we must. John’s leadership has been essential to our progress.’’

Baron said he expects to name a replacement for Yemma “within the week.’’

Yemma worked at the Monitor from 1979 to 1988, serving stints in the paper’s Washington bureau, as a Middle East correspondent, and as business editor. During his 20 years at the Globe, Yemma wore many hats: He worked as assistant editor on the Globe magazine for two years before returning to reporting to cover the first Gulf War. He served as foreign editor from 1991 to 1995, then switched back to reporting to cover ideas and culture from 1996 to 1999. He was named deputy managing editor for the Sunday paper in 2000, a post he held for several years before becoming national political editor during the presidential campaign of 2004, after which he was named to his multimedia post. “Few people in the Globe newsroom have ranged as far and wide as John,’’ Baron wrote.

The Monitor is likely to present Yemma with his biggest challenge yet. There were several references to the newspaper last week during the annual meeting of the First Church of Christ, Scientist, which owns the newspaper. Church leaders spoke of the need to re-think the role of the Monitor and other church periodicals. Mary Trammell, editor in chief of The Christian Science Publishing Society, said yesterday in a statement: “We are delighted a journalist of John Yemma’s professional stature and multimedia experience is returning to help launch the Monitor into its second century.’’
(By Don Aucoin, Globe staff)