New York Magazine
That question is asked of New York Times managing editor
Jill Abramson. Executive editor
Bill Keller, she says, "is very well suited to these times. He is cerebral and careful, which at a historic moment when The New York Times is under such constant scrutiny and attack, serves the paper extremely well." More from
Joe Hagan's piece:
> "The Times is as powerful a news organization, and media brand, as any on earth, but the cracks in its foundations have become disconcertingly visible. Of course, things could be much worse. A look at the papers in most other cities reveals what the Times might look like in a nightmare future: a bland, cowed publication with ads on its front page, sustained by auto guides and real-estate brochures."
> "Keller depends on publisher [
Arthur] Sulzberger Jr. to protect the paper from Wall Street -- but no one can protect Keller from Sulzberger. Keller meets with him three times a week to discuss business at the paper, a part of the job he loathes. Pressure on the Times has grown in the last year to add more style and entertainment editorial -- from Thursday “Styles” to the array of T magazines -- while trimming the core news operation. Some changes have been particularly unpopular internally, like the imminent shrinking of the paper size and the “strip ads” that began to appear on section fronts."