Bill Keller steps down as executive editor of The New York Times

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Bill Keller steps down as executive editor of The New York Times

2011-06-02 22:47:22 GMT+7 (ICT)

NEW YORK (BNO NEWS) -- The New York Times on Thursday announced that Biller Keller will step down from his position as Executive Editor and will be succeeded by Jill Abramson, making her the newspaper's first female in that role.

Keller has been executive editor of The New York Times since mid-2003, and the announcement came as a surprise. "Bill came to me several weeks ago and told me that he felt the time had come for him to step down from the role of executive editor," said Arthur Sulzberger Jr., chairman of The New York Times Company and publisher of The New York Times.

Sulzberger said he accepted Keller's decision with 'mixed emotions,' but noted that Keller will continue as a writer for both The New York Times Magazine and The Time's new Sunday opinion and news section. "I'm truly grateful for the outstanding job he has done leading our newsroom for the past eight years, and I'm delighted we're not losing him," the chairman added.

Abramson has been managing editor of The New York Times for about eight year, and Keller often referred to her as "my sidekick." In one interview in New York Magazine in 2006, Keller described his relationship with Abramson as being like a marriage. "It's harder to see straight when you're in it. Like any marriage, we have our occasional spats," Keller said.

"Without question, Jill is the best person to succeed Bill in the role of executive editor. With him, she steered the newsroom through one of the most challenging periods in recent history, both economically and culturally," Sulzberger said. "Over the past year, she has immersed herself in our digital strategy and led the effort to fully integrate the newsroom. This Web integration has made us a better news organization, able to maintain our high journalistic standards while adjusting our approach to the dissemination of news."

Keller, in a statement, said it has been a privilege to work for The New York Times. "It's been a privilege to work alongside the world's finest journalists during these exhilarating years of tumult and transformation. I wanted to move on when the newsroom felt strong in its journalism and secure in its future. It feels that way now, and with Jill as executive editor, it could not be in better hands," Keller said.

Abramson said she is grateful for the opportunity to lead the editorial direction of The New York Times. "It's a dream job for any journalist and one that I am deeply honored to be asked to serve in. I have deep affection for this institution and for my many talented colleagues, and I look forward to all that lies ahead," she said.

Keller will step down as executive editor on September 6.

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