Abramson out as NYT editor, Baquet replaces her

Re: Abramson out and NYT editor, Baquet replaces her

Tallest midget, and all that. (BTW, I agree it's the best news paper website, mostly because of the content, but the design is very good in my opinion too.)

But, it's not newspaper websites they are worries about:

The report largely ignores legacy competitors and focuses on the new wave of digital companies, including First Look Media, Vox, Huffington Post, Business Insider, and BuzzFeed.

There are problems with folks (like Baquet?) who are "unfamiliar with the web", which leads to too much of a focus on Page One, and content being published to the web based on evening print deadlines:

“The newsroom is unanimous: we are focusing too much time and energy on Page One,” the report says.

Another problem: Most content is published online around evening print deadlines.

Also a central issue is “a cadre of editors who remain unfamiliar with the web.”

And, maybe worst of all, if you Google a story you heard about, that the Times broke, you're more likely to end up on the Huffington Post, reading a recap of the Times article:

It also includes an unusually frank exchange with a competitor, an executive at Huffington Post who is described as contrasting that site’s facility with search engine optimization with the Times’ failures in that area.

“An executive there described watching the aggregation outperform our original content after Nelson Mandela’s death,” the report says. “‘You guys got crushed,’ he said. ‘I was queasy watching the numbers. I’m not proud of this. But this is your competition. You should defend the digital pickpockets from stealing your stuff with better headlines, better social.’”

 

Re: Abramson out and NYT editor, Baquet replaces her

Sure. You don't have to go full Darren Rovell, but when an internal report says a central issue is “a cadre of editors who remain unfamiliar with the web,” don't you have to wonder if the former "hands on" managing editor, who just got promoted to executive editor is a part -- or the leader -- of the cadre?

If he was web savvy, wouldn't the rest of the newsroom have followed?

(And, Abramson hadn't tweeted in two years either.)

 

Re: Abramson out and NYT editor, Baquet replaces her

Thanks for the legal explanation, I thought "Libby Ledbetter" had become shorthand for saying you supported equal pay, but I'm happy to leave her/it out of the discussion to make it more specific.

Perhaps I should have cited the "Paycheck Fairness Act" instead, which the Times editorialized on previously:

 

Re: Abramson out and NYT editor, Baquet replaces her

14 Facts About Nelson Mandela That Will Make You Want to Bake a Carrot Cake

By David Barstow

 

Re: Abramson out and NYT editor, Baquet replaces her

An editorial from five weeks ago:

Maybe Republicans prevented the Times from paying Abramson what she deserved.

 

Re: Abramson out and NYT editor, Baquet replaces her

Is fired N.Y. Times editor Jill Abramson the new Lilly Ledbetter?

Robin Abcarian in the LA Times:

 

Re: Abramson out and NYT editor, Baquet replaces her

And he hasn't updated his Twitter profile to say he's executive editor!

So, clearly, he should be fired.

BTW, I know of some other people in the news biz who use Twitter as a wire service for their phone and rarely, if ever, tweet. And based on the number and types of people he follows, it appears that might be the case as well.

And the digital report might have shredded the Times but the NYTNow app they rolled out I use and I think its one of the best apps out there. Incredibly useful. And its made for a phone so it looks really good.

 

Re: Abramson out and NYT editor, Baquet replaces her

Sure. Of course.

Though Baquet only follows 73 people, and it looks like half or more are associated with the Times. Presumably, he wouldn't need twitter to alert him to stories running in/on the Times.

So, it doesn't look like he's got much of a news feed.

He's still following Abramson though. Too bad she has one tweet since December, 2011.

 

Re: Abramson out and NYT editor, Baquet replaces her

Holy Jesus, of all the "who gives a fucks" in the history of "who gives a fuck," this may be the who gives a fuckiest of them all. Wow. The head honchos at the most prestigious news organization in the world don't carry themselves in the Internet like 14-year-old Kardashian fans. Twitter's not even going to exist in five years.

Who. Gives. A. Fuck.

 

Re: Abramson out and NYT editor, Baquet replaces her

You're not as uncool as I thought you were.

 

Re: Abramson out and NYT editor, Baquet replaces her

OK. Who gives a fuck.

For that matter, who gives a fuck if editors at the Times are not familiar with the web.

I'm sure the two aren't related at all.

 

Re: Abramson out and NYT editor, Baquet replaces her

George HW Bush just tweeted his support for Baquet.

He doesn't think he's a Luddite at all: