The New York Times said Thursday that executive editor Bill Keller will step down and be replaced by managing editor Jill Abramson, who will become the first woman named to lead the newspaper’s newsroom.
Keller, who has been editor of The Times since 2003, will become a full-time writer for the paper, a position in which he has distinguished himself, winning a Pulitzer Prize as a foreign correspondent.
Abramson, 57, is a former investigative reporter and head of The Times’ Washington bureau. Keller, 62, named her managing editor shortly after he got the top job eight years ago.
Abramson will be replaced as managing editor by Dean Baquet, The Times’ Washington bureau chief. The changes were announced Thursday morning by Arthur Sulzberger Jr., chairman of the New York Times Co. and publisher of the paper. Sulzberger said in a story posted on The Times’ website that he accepted Keller’s resignation “with mixed emotions.” He said in the story that Keller’s decision to step down was made entirely by Keller.
Paul Farhi, The Washington Post
