Bill Keller will officially step down from his post as executive editor of The New York Times on Labor Day, the same day Jill Abramson will move into journalism’s most coveted and most complicated role. Already, profilers and commentators are dissecting Keller’s time—read our Clint Hendler’s thoughts here—and musing over what the Abramson era will bring. Only one thing can be sure right now: it will bring challenges.
A fledgling paywall, a struggle for standards across emerging platforms, two ongoing wars (a third rumbling along quietly), a presidential election or two, a slowing “recovery,” stubbornly bad unemployment levels, the erosion of the opinion/news divide, and the ever shrinking resources from which newspapers have to draw to deal with all of them: Thus read the Abramson tarot cards.
Today we’re asking what you’d like to see from the Times’s new executive editor. What does she need to do to handle these challenges? What does she need to change? And what should she leave exactly as it is? Let us know below.
I'm a big fan of the New York Times and have written fairly extensively on what I think is needed to fix it. Here are two examples:
How to fix the New York Times: http://www.digitaltonto.com/2010/how-to-fix-the-new-york-times/
The Real Problem with NYtimes.com: http://www.digitaltonto.com/2010/the-real-problem-with-nytimes-com/
- Greg
#1 Posted by Greg Satell, CJR on Thu 9 Jun 2011 at 12:45 AM
Cover all politicians of all parties as obsessively as you do Sarah Palin? Starting with the President of the United States, product of the fragrant Cook County Democratic Party machinery? I'd like to see the e-mails.
#2 Posted by Mark Richard, CJR on Tue 14 Jun 2011 at 12:21 PM
Links links links. If the times wants to become relevant they will need to include proper links to sources being cited. Not links to retarded 'times topic pages' that some machine auto generates.
And fire anyone who uses anonymous sources when they should name their sources.
And if reporters turn press releases into stories without seeking a second source, the times should get paid by the issuer of the press release.
#3 Posted by Timothywmurray, CJR on Thu 16 Jun 2011 at 06:39 PM
Tone down the "people live outside of NYC? How sad for them." attitude. The NYTimes is probably the most egregious of the major world newspapers in terms of Darkest Africa coverage.
#4 Posted by slipjack, CJR on Fri 17 Jun 2011 at 02:39 PM
Promote Gretchen Morgenstern to head the Business News section. Get rid of David Brooks in order to restore journalistic respect to the Op-Ed page. His last column concerning Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as primary instigators of the financial upheaval was lame. And keep all conversation with Sulzberger to a bare minimum.
#5 Posted by Jack, CJR on Tue 21 Jun 2011 at 04:49 PM
Completely agree about the "Darkest Africa" coverage. Way too many examples/stories of overprivileged NYC-area residents with nannies, summer homes, cool apartments -- it's stifling and undercuts what is often good reporting. Monitor the online comments, especially the anti-religion hostility that predictably appears whenever the paper covers someone like Perry.
And I haven't seen Brooks all summer. Guess he's been out at his summer home.
#6 Posted by Elizabeth, CJR on Wed 17 Aug 2011 at 05:17 PM