Jean-François Bégin

Jean-François Bégin graduated from Concordia's Graduate Diploma in Journalism program in 1997, after completing a law degree at Laval University and passing the Québec Bar exam. He started at La Presse as an intern the same year and was officially hired in January 1998, in the early days of the ice storm crisis. He covered health care before spending three years on leave in London as a freelancer, along with his wife, then-UK correspondent and now columnist at La Presse, Isabelle Hachey.

Back in Montreal, he was a sports columnist for La Presse from 2003 to 2010, covering three Olympics and countless disappointments from the Montreal Canadiens along the way. His last assignment was the World Cup of soccer in South Africa, in 2010, after which he became the sports editor, and two years later, the general news editor. After a stint as a national correspondent in 2015-16, he returned to management, eventually becoming La Presse managing editor in 2018, a position he still holds.