Firing Jill Abramson: What’s Good for the Goose is Not Good for the Gander?

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Excerpts

Jill Abramson (Abramson) was born to a Jewish family in New York City. Her father was president of a New York textile importer, Irish Looms Associates. Abramson completed her schooling from the Fieldston School in the Bronx, and thereafter, joined Harvard University from where she graduated with a BA in history in 1976. Soon after graduating, Abramson started working for Time magazine for which she covered the 1976 presidential elections. In 1986, Abramson co-authored the book ‘Where They Are Now: The Story of the Women of Harvard Law, 1974’. By 1988, she had joined Wall Street Journal as an investigative reporter and she soon rose to become Deputy Washington Bureau Chief. In the meantime, with one of her colleagues at Wall Street Journal, Jane Mayer, Abramson wrote another book, a 400-page one called ‘Strange Justice: The Selling of Clarence Thomas’.

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In 2008, the US economy fell into recession and most industries were struggling to survive. The New York Times was no exception. Under severe financial strain, the paper announced that it would terminate nearly 100 newsroom jobs. In 2008, the newsroom at the Times had 1,333 employees, whereas other contemporary American papers had about 900. Keller explained that the cuts would be made either by not filling jobs that fell vacant or by offering buyouts, and even through layoffs, if required. ....

The sudden and surprise firing of Abramson shocked not only the Times staff but also outsiders. There were also comments about the fact that while the exit age of all senior editors at the paper was 65 years, Abramson had been fired at the age of 60. The hastily called meeting by Sulzberger made it clear that Abramson’s departure had not been voluntary. Rising through the ranks at the Times from enterprise editor to executive editor, she was regarded as a role model for the entire paper. .....

In May 2014, Abramson handled some crucial projects with Baquet. A report was even released the same month on reshaping the newspaper’s long-term strategies for online and mobile readers. After Abramson’s firing, the future of such projects had become doubtful as she was heading these projects. As of 2014, the paper was in turmoil with its print advertising revenues declining; it was resorting to sacking employees and even selling its assets. .....

Exhibit I: Consolidated Financial Results for NYT (2011-2013)
Exhibit II: Board of Directors at NYT
Exhibit III: The Executive Team at NYT
Exhibit IV:Pay Gap in Journalism in the US