New York Times Editor Bill Keller Resigns

NEW YORK (The Blaze/AP) -- The executive editor of The New York Times is stepping down after eight years on the job.

The Times announced Thursday that Bill Keller is leaving the post to return to writing. He will be replaced by Jill Abramson, formerly one of his top deputies.

Times Publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. says in a statement that Keller asked for the change a few weeks ago. Keller plans to write for The New York Times Magazine and the paper's Sunday opinion and news section.

Abramson was the paper's managing editor.

The newspaper said the changes are effective Sept. 6.

Gawker has the internal memo that went out to staff:

Dear Colleagues,

I am writing to give all of you – news and business colleagues alike –

some news about a leadership transition in the newsroom of The Times.

Later this year, Bill Keller will step down as executive editor of our

paper. His successor will be Jill Abramson, our managing editor and

Bill's deputy during the eight years in which he ran our global news

operations. Jill has asked Dean Baquet, our Washington bureau chief,

to serve as her managing editor and he has accepted. All of this will

be effective after Labor Day.

Any change like this is both exciting and bittersweet. On the one

hand, we look forward to the new leadership and all the potential

these two extraordinarily talented journalists offer us. And on the

other, we recognize that with Bill's departure from his role, we are

losing someone who did an absolutely outstanding job in leading our

newsroom through some very difficult circumstances. We all know that

Bill is leaving to his successors a newsroom as strong as it has ever

been, and one that has shown tremendous flexibility as it expands and

moves further down the path to its multiplatform future. That is the

gift he is bequeathing to Jill and Dean and, through them, to all of

us.

The decision to make this move was Bill's, and it will shock no one

who knows him to learn that he will return to writing the column and

the magazine pieces that he was so terrific at before he took on the

role of executive editor.

Jill is perfectly prepared to step into her new role. She brings with

her a highly focused and determined journalistic and management style,

one that has served us well. Her decision to name Dean as her deputy

gives us a well rounded and extraordinarily talented leadership team,

one that I believe will take us to even greater levels of journalistic

accomplishment.

Please join us in the newsroom at 11:00 this morning when we will have

a bit more to add on this exciting day at The Times.

Arthur