Raines, Boyd Resign as N.Y. Times Top Editors
The New York Times announced today that Joseph Lelyveld, former executive editor of The Times, has been named interim executive editor, and that Howell Raines and Gerald M. Boyd have resigned as executive editor and managing editor, respectively. No one will be named interim managing editor, the Times said.
The resignations are unprecedented at the Times, but they stemmed from the equally unprecedented scandal at the paper in which reporter Jayson Blair admitted fabricating material, national correspondent Rick Bragg resigned over a failure to credit freelancers’ work in his pieces, and newsroom morale sank while complaints about Raines’ and Boyd’s management style, descibed as top-down and autocratic, rose.
The actions appeared sudden, as if dictated by higher authorities at the Times, such as the board of directors. Publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr., who is also chairman of The New York Times Co., consistently stood behind his top editors and as recently as Monday, as Seth Mnookin reported in Newsweek, Raines “ate dinner with a group of metro and business staffers, a kind of mini focus group of in-house skeptics.”
But today, Sulzberger said, “Howell and Gerald have tendered their resignations, and I have accepted them with sadness based on what we believe is best for The Times. They have made enormous contributions during their tenure, including an extraordinary seven Pulitzer Prizes in 2002 and another this year. I appreciate all of their efforts in continuing the legacy of our great newspaper.”
Boyd, 52, was the Times’ first African American managing editor, part of a team with Raines. Boyd was the point man when the Times killed two columns disagreeing with the Times’ coverage of efforts to admit women to the Augusta National Country Club and an uproar from other journalists resulted.
The racial dimension of the developments came not only from Boyd’s involvement, but the fact that Blair is black and that efforts were made to tie his failure to the Times’ diversity efforts.
Reaction today was swift from other black journalists.
“Gerald Boyd’s accomplishments in journalism before being named managing editor at The New York Times spoke volumes about his ability and leadership skills. To have the actions of a self-destructive miscreant like Jayson Blair cost Gerald his post at the Times makes me sick to my stomach,” said Condace Pressley, president of the National Association of Black Journalists, in a statement.
CNN reported that Blair responded to the resignations in a two-sentence e-mail to the network, saying, “I am sorry to hear that more people have fallen in this sequence of events that I had unleashed. I wish the rolling heads had stopped with mine.”
“It’s a sad day when the the managers of the world’s best newspaper can be brought down for mishandling the blatant corruption of a journalistic hooligan like Jayson Blair,” said Jack E. White, Time magazine columnist.
“One can only hope that this fiasco will prompt journalists across the board to examine the way they go about their business and recommit themselves to its highest principles. That reexamination must include greater scrutiny of recruitment and training practices that can be undermined by poor judgment and outright arrogance.
“The sad truth is that the New York Times could have easily fulfilled its commitment to diversity by hiring more of the thousands of able, experienced African American, Latino and Asian reporters now working in other newsrooms across the nation, many of whom could meet any standard of excellence the Times chose to set for new employees. That, generally, is how the Times has added able journalists who happen to be white to its staff.
“One can only hope that Raines’ and Boyd’s successors will have the good judgment and humility not be be bamboozled again by a con artist posing as a journalist. And one can only hope that the Times will seriously consider hiring journalists of color to take Raines’ and Boyd’s place.”
Boyd was named to the post in 2001, after having served as deputy managing editor for news since 1997. Before that, he had been assistant managing editor from 1993 until 1997, a Business Wire dispatch mentioned.
“I never knew Gerald so well as I knew Howell, but my feeling toward both is one of sadness,” said former Times reporter Ernest Holsendolph, now with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “They were two exceptional journalists who got trapped by circumstances. I knew Howell to be a courageous writer, and one with very decent impulses. Ironically those two factors may have contributed to his undoing. As to being autocratic, there probably is no alternative way to run the New York Times. The size of the operation, and the outsized egos of people so talented probably can be managed only with a firm hand — and yes, with favorites.”
“This is a sad day for all black journalists,” said Marlene L. Johnson, assistant metro editor at the Washington Times. It is such a shame because we have so few of us at the top, and I’m not sure why he felt the need to resign. Gerald is so talented and was a mentor to a lot of us, myself included. Now, who will fill the void? This is so sad and discouraging, but I know Gerald will land on his feet.”
“Make no mistake, it’s a sad day,” agreed Eugene Kane, columnist for the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel and president of the Wisconsin Black Media Association. “Most of us realize what Boyd’s resignation means: an important foothold gained and incredibly lost due to one foolish reporter’s transgressions (and, an institution that refused to police its own house).
“I’m not finding any satisfaction about this at all. What has Jayson wrought? Janet Cooke, some may remember, brought down Bob Woodward’s career [ambitions to be] head of the Washington Post newsroom, but he certainly rebounded well. Let’s hope Gerald can do the same.”
Paul Delaney, a former New York Times senior editor, said, “I feel a special sadness for Gerald Boyd, to realize a dream and come this far, only to be snagged in Jayson’s net. He and Howell are old friends and colleagues of mine who made a terrible mistake in betting on Jayson.
“Beyond that, I think there are wider implications regarding the nation and the times we live in. Venerable institutions, such as the Catholic Church, and some not so venerable, such as Enron, have shown themselves vulnerable to the demands and temptations that lead to skating, cheating, lying, scrimping, lowering of standards in the name of seeking fame, money, success. The New York Times mess is only one sign that something is seriously flawed in society and where we’re going. We need to start from there to find fixes.”
“I am in mourning,” said Don Wycliff, another former Timesman who left its editorial page for the Chicago Tribune, where he is now public editor. “I mourn because I know Gerald worked his butt off for years to get where he got. I mourn because I know that his accomplishment was, in some measure, an accomplishment of all of us. And I mourn because we have seen a good man’s talent and dedication and effort rendered meaningless by the actions of a very selfish man.”
Boyd was co-senior editor of The Times’s “How Race is Lived in America” series, which was published in 2000 and was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting in the following year, the Business Wire dispatch recalled. He was then named Journalist of the Year by NABJ. In 1977, he had founded the St. Louis Association of Black Journalists and served as its first president. One of the group’s projects, which he initiated, was a seven-week journalism workshop for high school students, as a brief bio of Boyd notes on the NABJ Web site.
“Gerald Boyd was much more than a symbol to Black journalists,” said Sheila Stainback, a former NABJ board member and a friend of Boyd and his wife, Robin Stone. “He was a coaxing, reassuring presence in the lives of many, and he made contributions as an editor that were remarkable. The New York Times race series, which he led, was unprecedented, and we’re not likely to see such a wonderful effort again anytime soon. Gerald stood shoulder-to-shoulder with his peers, and few Times editors will have accomplished as much as Gerald did in his short — but productive stint as managing editor.
“Few know of his ample contributions to journalism, even before becoming an editor. Gerald was one of the youngest recipients ever of a Nieman fellowship at Harvard University, at age 28. Clearly, he didn’t rest on that laurel in moving onward and upward in our business.
“I can’t wait to learn of the lucky place where Gerald will likely land,” said Stainback.
A current NABJ board member, Bonnie Newman Davis, said, “I’ve wondered throughout this entire debacle whether it was more about Gerald Boyd than Jayson Blair. My suspicions are now confirmed.”`
Boyd joined The Times in 1983 and soon became a member of its national political team and reported on Vice President George H.W. Bush during the 1984 presidential campaign. Boyd became a senior editor in January 1991, when he was appointed special assistant to the managing editor, which led to brief stints as a top editor in the paper’s Washington bureau and in its national and metropolitan departments, the dispatch continued.
Raines won a Pulitzer in 1992 for “Grady’s Gift,” an account in the Times magazine of his childhood friendship with his family’s black housekeeper and the lasting lessons of their relationship.
He was quoted as saying May 14 during a closed-door meeting with the Times staff: “I believe in aggressively providing hiring and career opportunities for minorities. Does that mean I personally favored Jayson? Not consciously. But you have a right to ask if I, as a white man from Alabama, with those convictions, gave him one chance too many by not stopping his appointment to the sniper team. When I look into my heart for the truth of that, the answer is yes.”
Sulzberger’s statement today said that, “I am grateful to Joe Lelyveld, an editor of superb talents and outstanding accomplishments, for his willingness to provide strong journalistic leadership as we select new executive and managing editors. While the past few weeks have been difficult, we remain steadfast in our commitment to our employees, our readers and our advertisers to produce the best newspaper we can by adhering to the highest standards of integrity and journalism. For nearly 152 years, The Times has devoted itself to this mission. With the efforts of our outstanding staff, we believe we can raise our level of excellence even higher.”
