Jill Abramson Leaving the ‘New York Times’
First female executive editor helmed the newspaper since September 2011
May 14, 2014
Jill Abramson. (Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times, via Redux)
After just under three years at the helm of the New York Times, Jill Abramson is stepping down, Politico reports. Dean Baquet, the newspaper’s managing editor, will take over as executive editor. The announcement was made by publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. at a staff meeting this afternoon.
In his announcement to staff, Sulzberger said Abramson’s departure was related to “an issue with management in the newsroom,” and had nothing to do with the quality of the paper’s journalism during her tenure. Abramson was not present for the newsroom announcement.
Abramson has notably said of her Upper West Side upbringing, “The New York Times was our religion.” Still, when she took the position in 2011, the Jewish Journal called her “The world’s most powerful Jewish woman.”
The Times’ public editor, Margaret Sullivan published a statement by Abramson about the unexpected announcement.
“I’ve loved my run at The Times,” she said in a statement. “I got to work with the best journalists in the world doing so much stand-up journalism,” she said, noting her appointment of many senior female editors as one of her achievements.
We’ll update you as we hear more about the decision.
Stephanie Butnick is chief strategy officer of Tablet Magazine, co-founder of Tablet Studios, and a host of the Unorthodox podcast.
