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{{short description|American television reporter}}{{Personbox
{{short description|American television reporter}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2024}}{{Infobox person
| name = Gideon Yago
| name = Gideon Yago
| image = Gideon Yago by David Shankbone.jpg
| image = Gideon Yago by David Shankbone (cropped).jpg
| birth_date = February 19, 1978
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1978|2|19}}
| birth_place = Madison, Wisconsin
| birth_place = Madison, Wisconsin
| alma_mater = [[Columbia University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])
| alma_mater = [[Columbia University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])
Line 10: Line 11:


==Background==
==Background==
Yago was born in [[Madison, Wisconsin]] to a [[German Americans|German-born]]]] [[Roman Catholic]] mother and an [[Jewish American|Jewish]] father who met in [[Israel]].<ref>{{Cite news|first=Toni SCHLESINGER |last= Schlesinger|authorlink= |title= Partly Renovated Loft in Former Knitting Factory |newspaper=[[The Village Voice]]|date=February 6, 2001 |url= https://www.villagevoice.com/2001/02/06/partly-renovated-loft-in-former-knitting-factory/ |accessdate=|quote=My dad was sort of a draft dodger and Zionist youth kid from Louisiana. My mom was a Roman Catholic school girl from Germany who turned socialist. She went to Israel to find out more about Judaism. My dad was in Jerusalem. It was after the Six Day War. }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink= |title= MTV reporter laid-back about being Jewish in Iraq| quote= Meet Gideon Yago, the 25-year-old Jew from New York, who was sent to cover America's war in Iraq for MTV|date=April 11, 2003 |url=https://www.jweekly.com/2003/04/11/mtv-reporter-laid-back-about-being-jewish-in-iraq/|website=[[J. The Jewish News of Northern California]] }}</ref> His mother was a psychoanalyst and his father an economist.<ref name=Richardson>{{Cite news|first=Lynda |last= Richardson |authorlink= |title= PUBLIC LIVES; MTV's Front Man on the Campaign Trail |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=May 28, 2004 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/28/nyregion/public-lives-mtv-s-front-man-on-the-campaign-trail.html |accessdate=|quote=His mother is a German-born psychoanalyst who now lives in Macon, Ga. His father is an economist in Los Angeles.}}</ref> He grew up in [[Queens, New York]] and graduated from the [[Kew-Forest School]]<ref name=Richardson/> where he wrote and published a [[zine]] called Corpuscle.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.villagevoice.com/2004-04-06/news/rage-inside-the-machine/ |title=Archived copy |access-date=2009-04-29 |archive-date=2009-04-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090429051605/http://www.villagevoice.com/2004-04-06/news/rage-inside-the-machine/ |url-status=live }}</ref> He graduated from [[Columbia University]] and began working for [[MTV News]] during the [[2000 United States presidential election|presidential election of 2000]]. At the age of 21, during the end of his senior year at Columbia, he had a full-time position at MTV.
Yago was born in [[Madison, Wisconsin]]<ref>{{Cite news|first=Molly |last=Griffin |authorlink= |title=MTV's Gideon Yago comes to campus |newspaper=[[The Observer (Notre Dame)]]|date=December 2, 2004 |url=https://ndsmcobserver.com/2004/12/mtvs-gideon-yago-comes-to-campus/ |accessdate=}}</ref> to a [[German Americans|German-born]], [[Roman Catholic]] mother and a [[Jewish American|Jewish]] father who met in [[Israel]].<ref>{{Cite news|first=Toni SCHLESINGER |last= Schlesinger|authorlink= |title= Partly Renovated Loft in Former Knitting Factory |newspaper=[[The Village Voice]]|date=February 6, 2001 |url= https://www.villagevoice.com/2001/02/06/partly-renovated-loft-in-former-knitting-factory/ |accessdate=|quote=My dad was sort of a draft dodger and Zionist youth kid from Louisiana. My mom was a Roman Catholic school girl from Germany who turned socialist. She went to Israel to find out more about Judaism. My dad was in Jerusalem. It was after the Six Day War. }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink= |title= MTV reporter laid-back about being Jewish in Iraq| quote= Meet Gideon Yago, the 25-year-old Jew from New York, who was sent to cover America's war in Iraq for MTV|date=April 11, 2003 |url=https://www.jweekly.com/2003/04/11/mtv-reporter-laid-back-about-being-jewish-in-iraq/|website=[[J. The Jewish News of Northern California]] }}</ref> His mother was a psychoanalyst and his father an economist.<ref name=Richardson>{{Cite news|first=Lynda |last= Richardson |authorlink= |title= PUBLIC LIVES; MTV's Front Man on the Campaign Trail |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=May 28, 2004 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/28/nyregion/public-lives-mtv-s-front-man-on-the-campaign-trail.html |accessdate=|quote=His mother is a German-born psychoanalyst who now lives in Macon, Ga. His father is an economist in Los Angeles.}}</ref> He grew up in [[Queens, New York]] and graduated from the [[Kew-Forest School]]<ref name=Richardson/> where he wrote and published a [[zine]] called Corpuscle.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.villagevoice.com/2004-04-06/news/rage-inside-the-machine/ |title=New York News - Rage Inside the Machine - page 1 |access-date=April 29, 2009 |archive-date=April 29, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090429051605/http://www.villagevoice.com/2004-04-06/news/rage-inside-the-machine/ |url-status=live }}</ref> He graduated from [[Columbia University]] and began working for [[MTV News]] during the [[2000 United States presidential election|presidential election of 2000]]. At the age of 21, during the end of his senior year at Columbia, he had a full-time position at MTV.


==Career==
==Career==
===Journalism===
===Journalism===
Initially, Yago worked primarily as a writer for the MTV News department. From 2002-2003, Yago wrote and produced the MTV News magazine "The Wrap" on MTV2. As his time at MTV progressed, Yago switched gears and began focusing on politics, rather than music, on MTV News. Yago has worked on award-winning documentaries on [[sexual health]], the [[September 11, 2001 attacks|9/11 attacks]], fighting in [[Afghanistan]], [[hate crimes]], the 2000 and [[2004 United States presidential election|2004 elections]], and the [[Iraq War|war in Iraq]]. These awards include: 2003 Peabody Award Winner for his programming on MTV's "Fight For Your Rights: Protect Yourself" sexual health campaign, a 2004 Emmy for MTV's Choose or Lose Programming, 2006 Emmy nomination for web coverage of the 2005 earthquake in Kashmir.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.emmyonline.org/emmy/docu_new_media_awards.html |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2013-07-06 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090525131611/http://www.emmyonline.org/emmy/docu_new_media_awards.html |archivedate=2009-05-25 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/topics/a/aftershock_pakistan/ |title=Archived copy |access-date=2009-04-29 |archive-date=2009-05-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090516004823/http://www.mtv.com/news/topics/a/aftershock_pakistan/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 2005 Yago covered the aftermath of [[Hurricane Katrina]] in [[New Orleans]] and the devastating [[2005 Kashmir earthquake|Kashmir earthquake]] in [[Pakistan]] and [[India]].
Initially, Yago worked primarily as a writer for the MTV News department. From 2002-2003, Yago wrote and produced the MTV News magazine ''The Wrap'' on [[MTV2]]. As his time at MTV progressed, Yago switched gears and began focusing on politics, rather than music, on MTV News. Yago has worked on award-winning documentaries on [[sexual health]], the [[September 11, 2001 attacks|9/11 attacks]], fighting in [[Afghanistan]], [[hate crimes]], the 2000 and [[2004 United States presidential election|2004 elections]], and the [[Iraq War|war in Iraq]]. These awards include: 2003 Peabody Award Winner for his programming on MTV's "Fight For Your Rights: Protect Yourself" sexual health campaign, a 2004 Emmy for MTV's Choose or Lose Programming, 2006 Emmy nomination for web coverage of the 2005 earthquake in Kashmir.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.emmyonline.org/emmy/docu_new_media_awards.html |title=News Emmy Awards - New Media Nominations |accessdate=July 6, 2013 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090525131611/http://www.emmyonline.org/emmy/docu_new_media_awards.html |archivedate=May 25, 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/topics/a/aftershock_pakistan/ |title=MTVNews.com – Aftershock: Gideon Yago's Diary from Pakistan |website=[[MTV]] |access-date=April 29, 2009 |archive-date=May 16, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090516004823/http://www.mtv.com/news/topics/a/aftershock_pakistan/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 2005 Yago covered the aftermath of [[Hurricane Katrina]] in [[New Orleans]] and the devastating [[2005 Kashmir earthquake|Kashmir earthquake]] in [[Pakistan]] and [[India]].


Towards the end of his career at MTV, Yago devoted most of his time to covering issues surrounding the Iraq War and its effect on young veterans. In 2004 he told Charlie Rose he thought the war was the top issue for young people in America.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZpnRKVHjjo|title=Gideon Yago talks with Charlie Rose - Charlie Rose|last=Charlie Rose|date=18 December 2006|publisher=|via=YouTube|access-date=27 November 2016|archive-date=9 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170209043104/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZpnRKVHjjo|url-status=live}}</ref> His 2006 MTV Special "Iraq Uploaded"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.paramountnetwork.com/|title=Paramount Network|website=Paramount Network|access-date=2020-07-29|archive-date=2020-07-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729203010/https://www.paramountnetwork.com/|url-status=live}}</ref> unintentionally helped change Pentagon policy denying wartime access to social networking sites as MTV is the only non-filesharing or social networking site mentioned in the subsequent ban.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/18659901|title=Access to YouTube, MySpace cut for soldiers|date=15 May 2007|publisher=|access-date=16 April 2020|archive-date=1 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201131742/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/18659901/|url-status=live}}</ref> Yago also discussed Iraq Uploaded with Stephen Colbert in August 2005.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/73430/august-23-2006/gideon-yago|title=The Colbert Report|website=Comedy Central|access-date=2009-04-29|archive-date=2020-11-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201107003832/http://www.cc.com/shows/the-colbert-report|url-status=live}}</ref>
Towards the end of his career at MTV, Yago devoted most of his time to covering issues surrounding the Iraq War and its effect on young veterans. In 2004 he told Charlie Rose he thought the war was the top issue for young people in America.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZpnRKVHjjo|title=Gideon Yago talks with Charlie Rose - Charlie Rose|last=Charlie Rose|date=December 18, 2006|publisher=|via=YouTube|access-date=November 27, 2016|archive-date=February 9, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170209043104/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZpnRKVHjjo|url-status=live}}</ref> His 2006 MTV Special "Iraq Uploaded"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.paramountnetwork.com/|title=Paramount Network|website=Paramount Network|access-date=July 29, 2020|archive-date=July 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729203010/https://www.paramountnetwork.com/|url-status=live}}</ref> unintentionally helped change Pentagon policy denying wartime access to social networking sites as MTV is the only non-filesharing or social networking site mentioned in the subsequent ban.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/18659901|title=Access to YouTube, MySpace cut for soldiers|website=[[NBC News]] |date=May 15, 2007|publisher=|access-date=April 16, 2020|archive-date=December 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201131742/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/18659901/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Yago also discussed Iraq Uploaded with Stephen Colbert in August 2005.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/73430/august-23-2006/gideon-yago|title=The Colbert Report|website=Comedy Central|access-date=April 29, 2009|archive-date=November 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201107003832/http://www.cc.com/shows/the-colbert-report|url-status=live}}</ref>


After years as a full-time member of MTV News, Yago left the network in January 2007 writing:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://idolator.com/231893/breaking-gideon-yago-leaving-mtv|title=BREAKING: Gideon Yago Leaving MTV|date=26 January 2007|publisher=|access-date=29 April 2009|archive-date=7 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201107003857/https://www.idolator.com/231893/breaking-gideon-yago-leaving-mtv|url-status=live}}</ref>
After years as a full-time member of MTV News, Yago left the network in January 2007 writing:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://idolator.com/231893/breaking-gideon-yago-leaving-mtv|title=BREAKING: Gideon Yago Leaving MTV|date=January 26, 2007|publisher=|access-date=April 29, 2009|archive-date=November 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201107003857/https://www.idolator.com/231893/breaking-gideon-yago-leaving-mtv|url-status=live}}</ref>


<blockquote>"We are lucky to have an audience that treats us as peers. Though it might be seductive to play the short game with their trust in return for stacked favors and immediate gains, please keep fighting for them and thinking of them in the fine work that you all do. They deserve as much."</blockquote>
<blockquote>"We are lucky to have an audience that treats us as peers. Though it might be seductive to play the short game with their trust in return for stacked favors and immediate gains, please keep fighting for them and thinking of them in the fine work that you all do. They deserve as much."</blockquote>


Throughout his career Yago has interviewed many politicians, musicians, and other celebrities including former President [[George W. Bush]], former President [[Bill Clinton]], former Senator [[John Kerry]], former Secretary of State [[Colin Powell]], former Vice President [[Al Gore]], and Senator [[John McCain]], as well as other prominent figures including former Ambassador [[L. Paul Bremer III]] and [[Bill Gates]]. Yago's writing has appeared in ''[[Spin magazine|Spin]]'', ''[[Rolling Stone]]'', and ''[[Vice magazine|VICE]]'' magazines. Several of Yago's pieces of writing have later become the basis for documentary material. For example, his 2003 article "No War For Heavy Metal" became the basis for Vice Film's 2007 documentary "Heavy Metal in Baghdad".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.viceland.com/int/v11n1/htdocs/no.php |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2010-01-06 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081007114635/http://www.viceland.com/int/v11n1/htdocs/no.php |archivedate=2008-10-07 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/03/31/iraq-band|title=Iraq Band|first=Sasha|last=Frere-Jones|date=24 March 2008|publisher=|via=www.newyorker.com|access-date=21 November 2017|archive-date=1 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201033819/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/03/31/iraq-band|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTJ1Ki4OM-g|title=Heavy Metal In Baghdad Documentary (Part 1)|last=MetalHeadISR|date=19 July 2008|publisher=|via=YouTube|access-date=27 November 2016|archive-date=5 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170405164406/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTJ1Ki4OM-g|url-status=live}}</ref> Also, Yago's piece for PRI's "This American Life" about a teenaged propagandist for Saddam Hussein<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?sched=1193|title=Radio Archive by Date - This American Life|website=www.thisamericanlife.org|access-date=2009-04-29|archive-date=2009-04-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090421215320/http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?sched=1193|url-status=live}}</ref> became the basis for their "Talk To An Iraqi" segment on the second season of "This American Life" on Showtime.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPEX0PnV-LU|title=Talk to an Iraqi - This American Life - Showtime: PART 1/2|last=iraqicaptain1|date=2 June 2008|publisher=|via=YouTube|access-date=27 November 2016|archive-date=27 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160727115055/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPEX0PnV-LU|url-status=live}}</ref>
Throughout his career Yago has interviewed many politicians, musicians, and other celebrities including former President [[George W. Bush]], former President [[Bill Clinton]], former Senator [[John Kerry]], former Secretary of State [[Colin Powell]], former Vice President [[Al Gore]], and Senator [[John McCain]], as well as other prominent figures including former Ambassador [[L. Paul Bremer III]] and [[Bill Gates]]. Yago's writing has appeared in ''[[Spin magazine|Spin]]'', ''[[Rolling Stone]]'', and ''[[Vice magazine|VICE]]'' magazines. Several of Yago's pieces of writing have later become the basis for documentary material. For example, his 2003 article "No War For Heavy Metal" became the basis for Vice Film's 2007 documentary "Heavy Metal in Baghdad".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.viceland.com/int/v11n1/htdocs/no.php |title=Vice Magazine - NO WAR FOR HEAVY METAL! - A.Crassicauda is Baghdad's Hardest |accessdate=January 6, 2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081007114635/http://www.viceland.com/int/v11n1/htdocs/no.php |archivedate=October 7, 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/03/31/iraq-band|title=Iraq Band|first=Sasha|last=Frere-Jones|magazine=The New Yorker |date=March 24, 2008|publisher=|via=www.newyorker.com|access-date=November 21, 2017|archive-date=December 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201033819/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/03/31/iraq-band|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTJ1Ki4OM-g|title=Heavy Metal In Baghdad Documentary (Part 1)|last=MetalHeadISR|date=July 19, 2008|publisher=|via=YouTube|access-date=November 27, 2016|archive-date=April 5, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170405164406/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTJ1Ki4OM-g|url-status=live}}</ref> Also, Yago's piece for PRI's "This American Life" about a teenaged propagandist for Saddam Hussein<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?sched=1193|title=Radio Archive by Date - This American Life|website=www.thisamericanlife.org|access-date=April 29, 2009|archive-date=April 21, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090421215320/http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?sched=1193|url-status=live}}</ref> became the basis for their "Talk To An Iraqi" segment on the second season of "This American Life" on Showtime.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPEX0PnV-LU|title=Talk to an Iraqi - This American Life - Showtime: PART 1/2|last=iraqicaptain1|date=June 2, 2008|publisher=|via=YouTube|access-date=November 27, 2016|archive-date=July 27, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160727115055/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPEX0PnV-LU|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Writer===
===Writer===
In 2006 Focus Features acquired his script "Underdog"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://login.vnuemedia.com/hr/login/login_subscribe.jsp?id=WMiyGvaF3L8Swr/6M+C2E+Nq5k7EK4X34Wu2iZtIIOg4gjgDAsYGPRhZ6W4x+Bq5CBKIs8LdUfaJ|title=Login...|website=login.vnuemedia.com}}{{Dead link|date=December 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> about veterans returning home from war. It has no set production or release date. Most recently, Yago has completed a short series with IFC. [[The IFC Media Project]] is "a user's guide to how the news gets made" promising to expose the tactics used by media giants to "sell" the news. Yago returned as host of the second season of The IFC Media Project, in May 2009.
In 2006 Focus Features acquired his script "Underdog"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://login.vnuemedia.com/hr/login/login_subscribe.jsp?id=WMiyGvaF3L8Swr/6M+C2E+Nq5k7EK4X34Wu2iZtIIOg4gjgDAsYGPRhZ6W4x+Bq5CBKIs8LdUfaJ|title=Login...|website=login.vnuemedia.com}}{{Dead link|date=December 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> about veterans returning home from war. It has no set production or release date. Yago also completed a short series with IFC. [[The IFC Media Project]] is "a user's guide to how the news gets made" promising to expose the tactics used by media giants to "sell" the news. Yago returned as host of the second season of The IFC Media Project, in May 2009.


Yago co-wrote the third episode of ''[[The Newsroom (U.S. TV series)|The Newsroom]]'' with [[Aaron Sorkin]], entitled "The 112th Congress." He also worked on ''[[Narcos]]'', ''[[Quantico (TV series)|Quantico]]'' and the finale of series one of ''[[The Mosquito Coast (TV series)|The Mosquito Coast]]''.
Yago co-wrote the third episode of ''[[The Newsroom (U.S. TV series)|The Newsroom]]'' with [[Aaron Sorkin]], entitled "The 112th Congress." He also worked on ''[[Narcos]]'', ''[[Quantico (TV series)|Quantico]]'' and the finale of series one of ''[[The Mosquito Coast (TV series)|The Mosquito Coast]]''.
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*{{IMDb name|1123621}}
*{{IMDb name|1123621}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090409004536/http://www.ifc.com/mediaproject/ The IFC Media Project]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090409004536/http://www.ifc.com/mediaproject/ The IFC Media Project]
*{{C-SPAN|gideonyago}}
*{{C-SPAN|1021127}}
*{{Charlie Rose view|1281}}
*{{Charlie Rose view|1281}}
*{{Worldcat id|lccn-no2009-45738}}


{{MTV News correspondents}}
{{MTV News correspondents}}
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[[Category:People from Manhattan]]
[[Category:People from Manhattan]]
[[Category:Columbia College (New York) alumni]]
[[Category:Columbia College (New York) alumni]]
[[Category:American male writers]]
[[Category:American male screenwriters]]
[[Category:American male screenwriters]]
[[Category:American television writers]]
[[Category:American television writers]]
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[[Category:Writers from Madison, Wisconsin]]
[[Category:Writers from Madison, Wisconsin]]
[[Category:American people of German descent]]
[[Category:American people of German descent]]
[[Category:American people of Jewish descent]]
[[Category:MTV News]]
[[Category:MTV News]]
[[Category:Journalists from New York City]]
[[Category:Journalists from New York City]]

Latest revision as of 18:01, 3 August 2024

Gideon Yago
Born (1978-02-19) February 19, 1978 (age 46)
Madison, Wisconsin
Alma materColumbia University (BA)
Known forMTV News Correspondent

Gideon Yago (born February 19, 1978) is a writer and former correspondent for MTV News and CBS News though he is most recognized for his contributions to MTV.

Background

[edit]

Yago was born in Madison, Wisconsin[1] to a German-born, Roman Catholic mother and a Jewish father who met in Israel.[2][3] His mother was a psychoanalyst and his father an economist.[4] He grew up in Queens, New York and graduated from the Kew-Forest School[4] where he wrote and published a zine called Corpuscle.[5] He graduated from Columbia University and began working for MTV News during the presidential election of 2000. At the age of 21, during the end of his senior year at Columbia, he had a full-time position at MTV.

Career

[edit]

Journalism

[edit]

Initially, Yago worked primarily as a writer for the MTV News department. From 2002-2003, Yago wrote and produced the MTV News magazine The Wrap on MTV2. As his time at MTV progressed, Yago switched gears and began focusing on politics, rather than music, on MTV News. Yago has worked on award-winning documentaries on sexual health, the 9/11 attacks, fighting in Afghanistan, hate crimes, the 2000 and 2004 elections, and the war in Iraq. These awards include: 2003 Peabody Award Winner for his programming on MTV's "Fight For Your Rights: Protect Yourself" sexual health campaign, a 2004 Emmy for MTV's Choose or Lose Programming, 2006 Emmy nomination for web coverage of the 2005 earthquake in Kashmir.[6][7] In 2005 Yago covered the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and the devastating Kashmir earthquake in Pakistan and India.

Towards the end of his career at MTV, Yago devoted most of his time to covering issues surrounding the Iraq War and its effect on young veterans. In 2004 he told Charlie Rose he thought the war was the top issue for young people in America.[8] His 2006 MTV Special "Iraq Uploaded"[9] unintentionally helped change Pentagon policy denying wartime access to social networking sites as MTV is the only non-filesharing or social networking site mentioned in the subsequent ban.[10] Yago also discussed Iraq Uploaded with Stephen Colbert in August 2005.[11]

After years as a full-time member of MTV News, Yago left the network in January 2007 writing:[12]

"We are lucky to have an audience that treats us as peers. Though it might be seductive to play the short game with their trust in return for stacked favors and immediate gains, please keep fighting for them and thinking of them in the fine work that you all do. They deserve as much."

Throughout his career Yago has interviewed many politicians, musicians, and other celebrities including former President George W. Bush, former President Bill Clinton, former Senator John Kerry, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, former Vice President Al Gore, and Senator John McCain, as well as other prominent figures including former Ambassador L. Paul Bremer III and Bill Gates. Yago's writing has appeared in Spin, Rolling Stone, and VICE magazines. Several of Yago's pieces of writing have later become the basis for documentary material. For example, his 2003 article "No War For Heavy Metal" became the basis for Vice Film's 2007 documentary "Heavy Metal in Baghdad".[13][14][15] Also, Yago's piece for PRI's "This American Life" about a teenaged propagandist for Saddam Hussein[16] became the basis for their "Talk To An Iraqi" segment on the second season of "This American Life" on Showtime.[17]

Writer

[edit]

In 2006 Focus Features acquired his script "Underdog"[18] about veterans returning home from war. It has no set production or release date. Yago also completed a short series with IFC. The IFC Media Project is "a user's guide to how the news gets made" promising to expose the tactics used by media giants to "sell" the news. Yago returned as host of the second season of The IFC Media Project, in May 2009.

Yago co-wrote the third episode of The Newsroom with Aaron Sorkin, entitled "The 112th Congress." He also worked on Narcos, Quantico and the finale of series one of The Mosquito Coast.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Griffin, Molly (December 2, 2004). "MTV's Gideon Yago comes to campus". The Observer (Notre Dame).
  2. ^ Schlesinger, Toni SCHLESINGER (February 6, 2001). "Partly Renovated Loft in Former Knitting Factory". The Village Voice. My dad was sort of a draft dodger and Zionist youth kid from Louisiana. My mom was a Roman Catholic school girl from Germany who turned socialist. She went to Israel to find out more about Judaism. My dad was in Jerusalem. It was after the Six Day War.
  3. ^ "MTV reporter laid-back about being Jewish in Iraq". J. The Jewish News of Northern California. April 11, 2003. Meet Gideon Yago, the 25-year-old Jew from New York, who was sent to cover America's war in Iraq for MTV
  4. ^ a b Richardson, Lynda (May 28, 2004). "PUBLIC LIVES; MTV's Front Man on the Campaign Trail". The New York Times. His mother is a German-born psychoanalyst who now lives in Macon, Ga. His father is an economist in Los Angeles.
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  6. ^ "News Emmy Awards - New Media Nominations". Archived from the original on May 25, 2009. Retrieved July 6, 2013.
  7. ^ "MTVNews.com – Aftershock: Gideon Yago's Diary from Pakistan". MTV. Archived from the original on May 16, 2009. Retrieved April 29, 2009.
  8. ^ Charlie Rose (December 18, 2006). "Gideon Yago talks with Charlie Rose - Charlie Rose". Archived from the original on February 9, 2017. Retrieved November 27, 2016 – via YouTube.
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  11. ^ "The Colbert Report". Comedy Central. Archived from the original on November 7, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2009.
  12. ^ "BREAKING: Gideon Yago Leaving MTV". January 26, 2007. Archived from the original on November 7, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2009.
  13. ^ "Vice Magazine - NO WAR FOR HEAVY METAL! - A.Crassicauda is Baghdad's Hardest". Archived from the original on October 7, 2008. Retrieved January 6, 2010.
  14. ^ Frere-Jones, Sasha (March 24, 2008). "Iraq Band". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2017 – via www.newyorker.com.
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  16. ^ "Radio Archive by Date - This American Life". www.thisamericanlife.org. Archived from the original on April 21, 2009. Retrieved April 29, 2009.
  17. ^ iraqicaptain1 (June 2, 2008). "Talk to an Iraqi - This American Life - Showtime: PART 1/2". Archived from the original on July 27, 2016. Retrieved November 27, 2016 – via YouTube.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  18. ^ "Login..." login.vnuemedia.com.[permanent dead link]
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