John Ellement did not always aspire to be a journalist; he simply fell into it. 

Ellement has always enjoyed writing, but his high school plan consisted of writing novels, not articles. 

Following the Watergate scandal, which came to a head in 1974, the public was intrigued by journalism — and Ellement was no exception. When he started at Northeastern in 1975, he joined The Northeastern News, the university’s student-run newspaper. His first assignment was to visit a lab on campus and speak to students about their knowledge of an experiment that used pigeons. 

“I was supposed to interview the students coming by, and I had a really tough time reaching out, saying hello, getting myself to ask people to talk to me. It was quite challenging for me,” said Ellement, who graduated from Northeastern in 1981 with a degree in journalism. “But I found out I could do it.”

Ellement pushed through his initial fears and found a love for journalistic writing. Later on, Ellement became the crime reporter for The News, speaking once a week with the university’s deputy police chief at the time, Joseph Ferriter. Ferriter would tell Ellement the crime updates for the week, and he would listen and take notes. 

“I wasn’t an investigative reporter — I’m still not an investigative reporter. Maybe there were a million questions that I should’ve asked him that I never did that would’ve made it more relevant. He controlled the conversation, which was a lesson in itself,” Ellement said. 

Now, he’s been at The Boston Globe for nearly 40 years, covering a variety of topics including New Hampshire politics, transportation and Boston City Hall.

Ellement continued his work at The News throughout his first year at Northeastern, building his skills to apply for his first co-op position. During Ellement’s time at Northeastern, the university co-op program followed a three- to six-month cycle: Students spent three months on the first co-op, three months back in classes, then six months on co-op and six months back in classes. 

When he applied for a position as a general assignment reporter at The Boston Globe, he assumed he would be rejected. 

“I was really surprised, because I remember coming back and telling my co-op counselor at Northeastern, ‘I did [a] terrible job, what else you got?’ and he said, ‘Well that’s funny, because they just called me and told me that they want to hire you,’” Ellement said.  

The Globe was a pivotal space for learning in Ellement’s early career — there, he met his mentors and solidified foundational reporting skills that he now passes on to other young writers. 

“They understand that you’re coming in as a student. They understood that their job was to help you learn how to be a good, ethical, accurate reporter,” Ellement said. 

That’s what Ellement has emphasized throughout his career: accuracy and compassion for all. 

One of the stories that stuck with him throughout his time at The Globe never made it to print — an ethically sound decision in hindsight, Ellement said, because public officials had made a mistake. 

A man who happened to share the same name as a Massachusetts state representative was arrested for an OUI on Cape Cod. The details of the arrest matched the representative’s name, address and description, but the representative insisted it was not him. Days later, journalists learned the police officers filing the report made a mistake and entered the wrong man into the system, and The Globe never published the story. 

“That was the greatest thing. We didn’t do that story, [and] that’s real reporting. That’s really one of the highlights of my career, on a personal level, because it never made it into the newspaper,” Ellement said. 

That story is a prime example of his journalistic mantra, “negative is positive,” a phrase he stands by in his reporting today. 

“It’s better to have spent an hour going down a road and then you learn at the end of your hour that it’s the wrong thing … I got nothing to show for it but it’s a positive because I’m not making a mistake,” Ellement said. 

Ellement eventually worked as a researcher for Spotlight, The Globe’s investigations team, advised and taught by Stephen Kurkjian, who worked as a reporter and editor for The Boston Globe for 39 years. It was through Kurkjian he learned how to find accurate information quickly at a time when information was found in books and not easily accessible online. But years of having to sift through hard copies of materials honed his research skills, something he said he still carries with him in a digital world. 

“While covering law enforcement, criminal justice and doing breaking news, all of those things require that you find out accurate information fast from places,” Ellement said. 

Ellement began his long, decorated journalism career at The News, and he hopes other students follow the same path in the future. His advice to aspiring young writers? Join the school’s newspaper. 

“If you’re going to do it, do The News. It does help you get a job. If you show up after two years at Northeastern having never done a story … they’re going to go onto the next person,” Ellement said.