Jill Abramson will replace Bill Keller as the executive editor of The New York Times, a big step for women in journalism. Abramson, who has a tattoo of a subway token on her shoulder, is a longtime serious journalist with equally smart metropolitan style.
Bio
Born: March 19, 1954
Hometown: New York City
Education: Harvard University, BA.
First Gig: Contributor to Time Magazine, 1973
A Lauded Career
Other Gigs: Professor at Princeton in 2000; fellow at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2001.
Big Challenges: She was the bureau chief at the Washington Times in 2003, when the war in Iraq was tipping off and there was a plagiarism scandal resulting in the leaves of two major editors.
Big Memories: Abramson has a tattoo of a subway token on her shoulder. She was also hit by a truck in 2007.
Scandal: Abramson's stepping up to replace Bill Keller after his ill-advised attack on The Huffington Post in his NYT column.
What To Expect
Abramson has big plans for the Times, which is currently slightly floundering in the wake of the widespread digital progress that Keller criticized so openly. Now leading a trusted news source in need of a flexible and visionary head honcho, Abramson is vocal about her reverence for the institution:
In my house growing up, The Times substituted for religion. If The Times said it, it was the absolute truth.
She also told CNN that she has no plans to fight with Arianna Huffington:
I've known Arianna Huffington since the early 90's in Washington...I certainly don't want to be in a war with her.
A wise career choice!