Jill Abramson is Out as Executive Editor at New York Times - Analyst Blog

The New York Times, which belongs to diversified media company The New York Times Company NYT, announced the sudden dismissal of its executive editor Jill Abramson, who served for nearly 2.5 years. Simultaneously, the company named Dean Baquet as her likely replacement.

Baquet, who has been the parent company's managing director since Sep 2011, joined in 1990 as a reporter. During his tenure, he has held several key positions including the posts of national editor and deputy metropolitan editor. Although he left the company in 2000 for Los Angeles Times, he rejoined in 2007.

Arthur Sulzberger, the chairman and publisher of The New York Times, chose Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Baquet as the most suitable person for the post due to his flawless news judgment and support-base of  employees.

Baquet has worked with Abramson for the past 6 months, where both were directly involved with the newsroom's innovation team. Abramson was the company's first female editor, whose expertise and leadership helped The New York Times Company to undertake its digital initiatives.

It is widely believed that Baquet will be an asset for the company who is likely to take it forward on its path of digital transformation and drive its success.

The decision reflects some confusion in the management team of The New York Times Company, which is controlled by Sulzberger's family. However, according to Sulzberger, the decision was not related to any controversy between the company's business and editorial operations.

It is believed that Baquet's appointment would bring some relief to the newsroom management.

However, some industry observers believe that this abrupt move was sparked by the company's focus on going digital and leaving behind the typical print papers, owing to the fall in print and advertising revenues. It was also perceived as a cost-cutting step by the company.

The newspaper industry, on the whole, is on the digital transformation trajectory as they all are witnessing declining advertising revenues. Of late, publishing companies like Journal Communications, Inc. JRN, The E.W. Scripps Co. SSP and Gannett Co. Inc. GCI have been experiencing waning advertising demand.

However, The New York Times Company posted decent first-quarter 2014 results, with print and digital advertising revenues increasing 3.7% and 2.2%, respectively. Revenues from digital-only subscription packages, e-readers and replica editions jumped 13.6% to $40.3 million, giving the company a good reason to alter its structure.

The New York Times Company currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
 
GANNETT INC GCI: Free Stock Analysis Report
 
JOURNAL COMM-A JRN: Free Stock Analysis Report
 
NY TIMES A NYT: Free Stock Analysis Report
 
EW SCRIPPS CO SSP: Free Stock Analysis Report
 
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
 
Zacks Investment Research