Yago was born in Madison, Wisconsin[1] to a German-born, Roman Catholic mother and a Jewish father who met in Israel.

[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.

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.

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.

[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.