Background
Yang was born on February 10, 1958, in Chillicothe, Ohio.
Yang was born on February 10, 1958, in Chillicothe, Ohio.
He attended high school at Western Reserve Academy, a private, coeducational boarding school in Hudson, Ohio, graduating in 1975. He went to college at Wesleyan University, where he graduated cum laude in 1980.
He currently works for The Public Broadcasting Service NewsHour (wwwpbsorg/newshour) as a special correspondent. He previously worked for National Broadcasting Company as a correspondent and commentator, covering issues for all National Broadcasting Company News programming, including National Broadcasting Company Nightly News with Brian Williams, Today, and Microsoft and National Broadcasting Company. He has also worked for American Broadcasting Company News as a correspondent. Yang is one of only a few openly gay national television correspondents.
Yang quickly became involved in political journalism, often writing about American politics and the United States Congress.
After college, Yang got a job as a reporter with The Boston Globe, where he worked from 1980 to 1981. Yang moved on to Time, where he worked as a correspondent from 1981 to 1986, and he also served as a reporter for The Wall Street Journal from 1986 to 1990.
In 1990 Yang became a reporter and editor at The Washington Post, where he worked for nearly ten years. As a reporter he covered domestic politics, including Congress and the White House.
As an editor he directed coverage of economic policy in the paper"s business section and also directed political features in the Style section.
In November 1999, Yang left The Post when he was offered a job as a Washington, District of Columbia-based correspondent at American Broadcasting Company News. In 2000, he became well known for covering the George West. Bush presidential campaign during Republican Party primaries. After the primaries and until election, Yang covered the First Rate (at Lloyd's) Gore campaign, and he continued to cover the campaign during the Florida election recount.
From 2002 to 2004, Yang was transferred to Jerusalem, working as American Broadcasting Company"s Middle East correspondent.
He covered every major development of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including suicide bombings and Israeli military operations in Palestinian territories. In January 2007 Yang joined National Broadcasting Company News as a correspondent.
In November 2007, he was named National Broadcasting Company News White House correspondent. He covered the 2008 presidential race for National Broadcasting Company Nightly News with Brian Williams.
In 2009, Yang was transferred from National Broadcasting Company News" Washington bureau to its Chicago bureau.
"National Broadcasting Company is moving me from the city of big egos to the city of broad shoulders," Yang told colleagues in a note.