New York Times promotes Joseph Kahn to executive editor

Apr 19, 2022, 8:46 AM | Updated: Apr 20, 2022, 2:48 am

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Times has named Joseph Kahn as its new executive editor, replacing Dean Baquet with his current second-in-command to lead the news organization as it rapidly transforms itself in the digital age.

Kahn, who has been managing editor at the Times since 2016, will take over on June 14. Baquet, who at 65 has reached the traditional retirement age for the Times’ top newsroom leader, will remain at the newspaper in a capacity that will be announced later.

Kahn, 57, joined the Times in 1998 from The Wall Street Journal. He previously served as the newspaper’s Beijing bureau chief, worked as an economics reporter and led its international desk, which won six Pulitzer Prizes under his stewardship.

“Joe brings impeccable news judgment, a sophisticated understanding of the forces shaping the world and a long track record of helping journalists produce their most ambitious and courageous work,” said A.G. Sulzberger, the Times’ publisher and chairman, in a memo to staff members Tuesday. “We couldn’t ask for a better leader for our newsroom amid a historic convergence of events.”

Kahn was not made available for comment.

His appointment wasn’t a surprise to many who follow such moves, and Sulzberger said those who will interpret it as a sign of confidence in the Times’ current path are correct.

The organization has made a digital transformation with startling speed: Its roughly 10 million digital subscriptions increased 10-fold since 2014. The Times produces a popular podcast, “The Daily,” started a video investigative unit, bought the sports website The Athletic and now even owns the popular puzzle Wordle.

It’s hard to imagine now, but when Baquet took over as executive editor in 2014, there was doubt about the Times’ future, said Tom Rosenstiel, a journalism professor at the University of Maryland. Now, it is a better paper than ever, with its podcasts, newsletters, digital storytelling and investigative reporting serving as a roadmap for others, he said.

“Most people don’t see it,” Rosenstiel said. “It’s as if the car still has the same name on the back and the same goals for the driver. But everything under the hood is entirely new. They have converted the machine from gas to electric before anyone else.”

Journalistically, the Times has taken big swings with groundbreaking #MeToo investigations, an exhaustive probe of former President Donald Trump’s finances and the 1619 Project, about the nation’s racial legacy.

There have been missteps. The Times had to return a Peabody Award for its 2018 podcast, “Caliphate,” after determining it could no longer vouch for the claims of a source. Editorial page editor James Bennet resigned after giving the green light to a 2020 opinion piece where U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton advocated using federal troops to quell racial unrest, an episode that showed the willingness of younger journalists at the newspaper to speak out.

Leading a new generation will be one of Kahn’s challenges, said Rick Edmonds, media business analyst at the Poynter Institute, a journalism think tank. Earlier this month, Baquet sent a memo to staff members urging them to cut back on Twitter usage.

The Times is frequently a target for conservatives, a trend supercharged by Trump’s “fake news” label. Some liberals believe it should have been tougher on Trump, and blamed Baquet.

Former Washington Post Executive Editor Marty Baron said that he and Baquet often compared notes about the challenge of leading newsrooms through difficult times and venomous attacks.

“Throughout, Dean has been the steady hand a great news organization needed, retaining his warmth and charm while showing himself to be an editor with a spine of steel,” Baron said Tuesday. “Journalism and the country are better for his leadership.”

The Times hasn’t been the only newsroom to face regime change. Last year The Washington Post named Sally Buzbee as its executive editor earlier this year, the Los Angeles Times hired Kevin Merida in the same role and The Associated Press named Julie Pace as its newsroom leader. Chris Licht is about to succeed Jeff Zucker as CNN’s chief, while ABC News, CBS News and MSNBC have new leaders.

Unlike some of the others, and perhaps befitting of what is essentially a family-run institution, the Times’ tradition is to promote its top leader from within. Kahn fits that bill.

Kahn received an endorsement from Baquet, with Sulzberger noting in his memo that Baquet believed Kahn was more prepared than any editor he’s ever seen to take over a newsroom with the Times’ complexity and ambition.

Kahn was president of the Harvard Crimson in college, following Zucker in that job. He began work at The Dallas Morning News but set his sights on China, and was working there when the Journal hired him in 1993. He “knows more about China than almost anyone,” said Jill Abramson, Baquet’s predecessor as Times’ executive editor.

“He is a lovely man — modest and scrupulous — and was always a great colleague,” Abramson said.

She said he’s well-equipped to lead in the digital age, noting that Kahn was behind the creation of the Times’ Chinese-language edition. As managing editor, he’s led the Times push into becoming a digital-first operation, championed different forms of storytelling and led efforts to make the newsroom more diverse and inclusive, Sulzberger said.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

FILE - Protesters stand outside of the Senate chamber at the Indiana Statehouse on Feb. 22, 2023, i...

Associated Press

LGBTQ+ Americans are under attack, Human Rights Campaign declares in state of emergency warning

The Human Rights Campaign declared a state of emergency for LGBTQ+ people in the U.S. on Tuesday.

2 days ago

FILE - People wait in line outside the Supreme Court in Washington to listen to oral arguments in a...

Associated Press

Supreme Court opened the door to states’ voting restrictions. Now a new ruling could widen them.

Within hours of a U.S. Supreme Court decision dismantling a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, Texas lawmakers announced plans to implement a strict voter ID law that had been blocked by a federal court. Lawmakers in Alabama said they would press forward with a similar law that had been on hold.

2 days ago

Gavel (Pexels Photo)...

Associated Press

Ex-teacher sentenced to prison for making death threat against Arizona legislator

A former Tucson middle school teacher was sentenced Tuesday to 2 ½ years in prison after pleading guilty to making a death threat against Arizona state Sen. Wendy Rogers.

2 days ago

FILE - Police officers stand outside a Target store as a group of people protest across the street,...

Associated Press

Pride becomes a minefield for big companies, but many continue their support

Many big companies, including Target and Bud Light's parent, are still backing Pride events in June despite the minefield that the monthlong celebration has become for some of them.

3 days ago

FILE - Then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden plays music on a phone as he arrives to spe...

Associated Press

Biden, looking to shore up Hispanic support, faces pressure to get 2024 outreach details right

Joe Biden vowed in 2020 to work “like the devil” to energize Hispanic voters, and flew to Florida seven weeks before Election Day to do just that.

3 days ago

Editorial members of the Austin American-Statesman's Austin NewsGuild picket along the Congress Ave...

Associated Press

Correction: US-Gannett Walkout story

Journalists at two dozen local newspapers across the U.S. walked off the job Monday to demand an end to painful cost-cutting measures and a change of leadership at Gannett, the country's biggest newspaper chain.

3 days ago

Sponsored Articles

...

DAY & NIGHT AIR CONDITIONING, HEATING AND PLUMBING

Here are the biggest tips to keep your AC bill low this summer

PHOENIX — In Arizona during the summer, having a working air conditioning unit is not just a pleasure, but a necessity. No one wants to walk from their sweltering car just to continue to be hot in their home. As the triple digits hit around the Valley and are here to stay, your AC bill […]

...

Desert Institute for Spine Care

Spinal fusion surgery has come a long way, despite misconceptions

As Dr. Justin Field of the Desert Institute for Spine Care explained, “we've come a long way over the last couple of decades.”

...

OCD & Anxiety Treatment Center

How to identify the symptoms of 3 common anxiety disorders

Living with an anxiety disorder can be debilitating and cause significant stress for those who suffer from the condition.

New York Times promotes Joseph Kahn to executive editor