The New York Times (NYT) dismissed Jill Abramson as executive editor on Wednesday, replacing her with Dean Baquet, the managing editor, in an abrupt change of leadership.
Arthur Sulzberger Jr, the publisher of the paper and chairman of The New York Times Co, told a stunned newsroom that had been quickly assembled that he had made the decision because of “an issue with management in the newsroom.”
Abramson, 60, had been in the job only since September 2011. However, people in the company briefed on the situation described serious tension in her relationship with Sulzberger, who was concerned about complaints from employees that she was polarizing and mercurial. She also had clashes with Baquet.
In recent weeks, people briefed on the situation said Baquet had become angered over a decision by Abramson to make a job offer to a senior editor from the Guardian, Janine Gibson, and install her alongside him in a co-managing editor position without consulting him. It escalated the conflict between them and rose to the attention of Sulzberger.
Abramson had recently engaged a consultant to help her with her management style. Sulzberger nevertheless made the decision earlier this month to dismiss her and on Thursday last week, he informed Baquet of his promotion, according to the people briefed on the situation.
Abramson did not return messages seeking comment. As part of a settlement agreement between her and the paper, neither side would go into detail about her firing.
Baquet becomes the first African American to serve as the NYT’s executive editor. Abramson’s hiring also made history — she was the first woman to run the newspaper. Her dismissal, after less than three years in the job, was met with disappointment by some women in the newsroom and could be perceived as a step backward in the cause of female leadership at the NYT and the industry.
In accepting the job, Baquet, 57, made several promises to the staff in the newsroom.
“I will listen hard, I will be hands on, I will be engaged. I’ll walk the room... That’s the only way I know how to edit,” he said.
Baquet thanked Abramson, who was not present, for teaching him “the value of great ambition.”
Both Baquet and Sulzberger praised Abramson for her efforts, but at a newspaper where executive editors generally serve until they are 65, her tenure was five years shorter than many thought it would be.
“I’ve loved my run at the Times... I got to work with the best journalists in the world doing so much stand-up journalism,” Abramson said in a statement, noting her appointment of many senior female editors.
The NYT won eight Pulitzer Prizes under Abramson and she won praise for journalistic efforts both in print and on the Internet.
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