Yahoo! News on Nov. 12 announced its decision to hire Matthew Bai (LA 90) as a national political columnist.
According to Yahoo! News, Bai will take on the role in December, following more than a decade of service as chief political correspondent for the New York Times Magazine.
Yahoo! News Editor-in-Chief Megan Liberman said in a press release that she is pleased to have Bai joining Yahoo!.
He has a singular ability to write about politics in a way that will connect with Yahoo! News broad readership and bring in younger readers who arent always attracted to political commentary, Liberman said. Im thrilled he is joining us.
Bai will offer commentary on, and analysis of, American politics in his new position.
He previously held posts at a number of wide-reaching publications including The Boston Globe, Newsweek, and The New York Times Magazine, where he most recently acted as chief political correspondent. He has also appeared on a number of programs such as Meet the Press, as well as in several PBS Frontline documentaries.
Bai graduated from Tufts with a bachelors degree in English and currently serves on the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service Board of Advisors.
Director of the Institute for Global Leadership Sherman Teichman, a former teacher and personal friend of Bai, said he noticed Bais ability to look at the big picture with an analytical eye during Bais time as an undergraduate student at Tufts.
[Bai] was a wonderfully skeptical, questioning and intellectual student, Teichman said. He was dedicated to journalism and loved to write.
Bais ability to write opinionated yet non-partisan pieces, and knack for gaining the trust of his interviewees, are key aspects of his success, Teichman said.
Communications and Media Studies Program Administrator John Ciampa pointed to Bais liberal arts background as a potential source of his ability to view stories from various angles.
When you see somebody like him who is able to comment astutely on both the political right and left and maintain a certain amount of balance in his commentary, [it is] indicative of somebody who received an education that prompted him to see the various sides of society, Ciampa said. I think what you see in his work now, 20 years after he graduated, is a growth that is very indicative of his Tufts experience.
According to Ciampa, Tufts is alma mater to a number of professionals who, like Bai, have gained considerable prestige in the field of media.
[Bai] is another alum whos reached the upper echelons of media and, in his case, media commentary and criticism, Ciampa said. [He] is at the forefront and has been ... for a number of years.
Teichman said that Bais intensity and inquisitive nature have contributed to his success, and he has high hopes for Bais future.
He was a very sought-after man and continues to be a very sought after man, Teichman said. He is, fundamentally, a writer, and I am certain he will raise the level of journalism at [Yahoo! News].
