The New York Times announced on Thursday the resignation of executive editor Howell Raines and managing editor Gerald Boyd, following a major investigation into reporting standards.
“Howell and Gerald have tendered their resignations, and I have accepted them with sadness based on what we believe is best for the Times,” said Arthur Sulzberger, the newspaper’s publisher and chairperson of the New York Times Co.
The Times launched its standards probe after reporter Jayson Blair resigned under fire on May 1 amid revelations he had plagiarised and fabricated information in numerous articles.
The scandal rocked the newspaper and prompted the resignation a week ago of Pulitzer Prize-winning correspondent Rick Bragg — accused of improperly using the reporting of a freelance journalist for a bylined feature article.
“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,” Sulzberger said in a statement.
The Times will be hoping that the resignations of Raines and Boyd provide a foundation for extracting the newspaper from the turmoil generated by the Blair scandal.
The latest slingshot fired at the newspaper came earlier this week when the US Justice Department, in an unusual public complaint, said a New York Times reporter misquoted a senior department official’s testimony in a story about the use of new powers to fight terrorism. – Sapa-AFP
A perfect fit gone wrong