The Boston Globe Names NPR News Chief As Next Editor

The Boston Globe announced Monday that Nancy Barnes would be its next editor, tapping a deeply experienced journalist who has run major metropolitan newspapers and is currently the chief news executive at NPR.

Barnes, who has strong local roots and was previously the top editor at The Houston Chronicle and Minneapolis Star Tribune, will be the 13th editor in the Globe’s 150-year history and the first woman to serve in that role.

Nancy Barnes

“Nancy is renowned for her commitment to high-quality journalism, her excellent leadership skills, and her passion for innovation,” Linda Henry, chief executive officer of Boston Globe Media Partners, said in a statement. “She not only brings the leadership experience of being the top editor of two different metro newspapers, but she also transitioned to running a digital and audio newsroom that has been an industry leader in connecting with new and vast audiences.”

Barnes will start on Feb. 1, succeeding Brian McGrory, who said in September that he would step down after 10 years to become chair of the journalism department at Boston University and to return to column-writing at the Globe.

“I am thrilled and honored to partner with its talented staff during a time of such exciting transformation and innovation in the industry. It’s a great opportunity that rarely comes along.”

Barnes, 61, was born in Cambridge, lived in Wilmington as a young girl, interned at the Globe while in college at the University of Virginia, and later worked as a reporter at The Lowell Sun.

She is the first top editor to be hired at the Globe since John and Linda Henry bought the paper from the New York Times Co. in 2013. McGrory was in the job at the time, and the Henrys kept him in place.