Boston Globe Editor Exits

Nancy Barnes, editor of The Boston Globe since early 2023, announced to staff on Friday that she will step down from the position today.

In an internal email, Barnes said she plans to remain with the organization as editor-at-large, where she intends to contribute to a fundraising effort aimed at supporting journalism in New England's news deserts.

“It’s time for me to take a break from the daily firestorm of news, consider new challenges and tend to some personal issues,” Barnes wrote. “This is a special newsroom, full of dedicated journalists with big hearts, who are driven to deliver great journalism day in and day out — as you have these last three years. It has been my great privilege to work with you."

Nancy Barnes

Boston Globe Media CEO Linda Pizzuti Henry, in a separate email to employees, praised Barnes' leadership and said more details on the newspaper's future leadership would be shared soon. “Over the past three years, Nancy has led the Globe newsroom with extraordinary dedication, guiding us through this historic news cycle and helping us deliver exceptional and award-winning journalism that will have a lasting impact on our community,” Henry wrote. “While it is a loss for her to step back, we are thrilled that she is staying with the organization.”

Barnes, who interned at the Globe during college, became the newspaper's 13th editor—and its first woman in the role—after being hired by owners John and Linda Pizzuti Henry following their 2013 purchase of the paper from The New York Times Company. 

Prior to the Globe, Barnes served as senior vice president of news and editorial director at NPR, and as executive editor at the Houston Chronicle and the Star Tribune in Minneapolis (now known as the Minnesota Star Tribune).