Dean Baquet, managing editor of the New York Times and former top editor at the Los Angeles Times, was named Executive Editor on Wednesday after Jill Abramson stepped down from the New York newspaper’s top editorial job. Baquet, 57, becomes the first African American in the job.
“It is an honor to be asked to lead the only newsroom in the country that is actually better than it was a generation ago,” he said in a New York Times account of the development, “one that approaches the world with wonder and ambition every day.”
Baquet’s ascension was big news for black journalists, whose ranks have been buffeted by newspaper staff contractions and indifference to diversity concerns.
“He has reached a height many can only dream about,” messaged Don Hudson, the executive editor of the Decatur (Ala.) Daily who tracks the number of black top editors for the National Association of Black Journalists. “He’s an inspiration to all of us editor types out here in the trenches. I know I’m proud of him.”
Hudson added, “It’s a good day. God is good. First a president and now the top journalist.”
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