Bill Keller

There will be layoffs at The Times. In an emotionally charged memo, Bill Keller writes that the vast majority of the 100 newsroom job cuts he announced back in February will come through buyouts, but the paper is "forced to resort" to laying the rest off. He said the paper will not disclose numbers or names in this "usettling and dispiriting time."

In the memo, he vehemently thanks reporters and editors at the paper for their service, as well as the Sulzbergers, and then says, "it is time to regroup."

He writes:

Most important, we retain the strongest team of talented journalists in the business, and they—you—remain the key to all of our ambitions.

Now it is time to regroup and move forward. In the coming weeks we will be working with department heads to reorganize and reimagine our coverage to ensure the quality journalism that is our standard. When we met in the Times Center in February, I told you that we were facing two seemingly contradictory challenges in the coming year. On the one hand, we must reduce our staffing and costs. On the other hand, we must do whatever we can to strengthen our competitive position. As I said then, that will mean our staff cuts will be offset a little by some investments to ensure, among other things, that we are well equipped to navigate the passage to our digital future.

Entire memo after the jump ...  read more »

Barry Bearak is on his way home. Here's the statement from Bill Keller, sent to us through the Times spokeswoman Catherine Mathis:

Barry's family, friends and colleagues are overjoyed that the court threw out the preposterous charges against him, and that he is on his way home. His only offense was honest journalism, telling Zimbabwe's story at a time of tormented transition. He had no intention of becoming part of that story.  read more »

The New York Times announced that it's all but a done deal that the paper will have to layoff staffers in the newsroom.

The drop-dead deadline is fast approaching for the staffers in The New York Times newsroom to raise their hand and volunteer for a buyout. An internal memo from the paper's assistant managing editor, Bill Schmidt, just went out and said that "we expect" that the buyout numbers aren't looking good and that for the first time the paper will be forced to cut the newsroom through layoffs.

"While layoffs have become all too common across our industry, this is the first time the newsroom as a whole has confronted that blunt reality, and we approach it with a heavy heart," he said in the e-mail.

The entire memo is below:  read more »

At a little after 3 p.m. on Monday, April 7, New York Times executive editor Bill Keller grabbed a microphone and took to a landing on one of the floating red-walled staircases that climb up into his brand-new newsroom’s skylit clerestory. It was Pulitzer day, and the first time this kind of stand-up-in-the-newsroom ceremony was being observed in the new Renzo Piano-designed tower the newspaper moved into last May.  read more »

The New York Times under executive editor Bill Keller still has fewer Pulitzer victories to its credit than during the short-lived reign of his predecessor, Howell Raines.

Under Raines, who served approximately 21 months before resigning in 2003 in the wake of the Jayson Blair scandal, the paper's news pages published seven Pulitzer-winning entries.

In more than twice that span of time—53 Pulitzer-eligible months as executive editor—Keller has published six Pulitzer winners.  read more »

Yesterday, the Pulitzer Prize administrator, Sig Gissler, told a group of reporters, "The old cliché is that when you win a Pulitzer, the first line of your obituary has been written." Yes, but what if you win three?  read more »

Barry Bearak is still in jail. Top officials in Zimbabwe agreed the case against him was groundless, but according to Bill Keller, the state's lawyers overruled them and he'll remain in prison for a second night.

Here is Bill Keller's statement, sent to us through a Times spokeswoman, Catherine Mathis:  read more »

Dith Pran, the New York Times photographer whose disappearance and escape from the clutches of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia was famously chronicled in the movie The Killing Fields, died today in New Jersey. He was 65.  read more »

For some weeks now, New York Times editors have been pinch-hitting in the role of weekend editor, ever since the paper announced Marty Gottlieb was moving on in a role to help work out the paper's relationship with the IHT.

Now they've got their full-time replacement: Alison Mitchell. She's been promoted to associate managing editor. (We've sent out an e-mail to a spokeswoman to find out if that means she'll be on the masthead. We'll update you when we find out.)

For now, here's the memo:  read more »

Bill Keller sent out a 384-word memo this morning announcing that William Grimes will become the new obit writer for the paper.

Here's the memo:

To the Staff:

There are some bylines that are, by general acclamation, must reads. William Grimes is one. No matter the subject, no matter the headline, Biff’s name atop a column of type is enough to encourage a reader to take the plunge. It’s a byline that carries a signature, a blend (or call it a cocktail — Biff wrote a book about drinks) of gentle wit, graceful style
and wide-ranging erudition.  read more »

Meanwhile, more job cut news, this time back on Eighth Avenue!

Bill Keller sent out a memo this afternoon digging through some bad news. He said that Times staffers have until March 5 to voluntarily accept a buyout so that they can ease their way into retirement (which is exactly what Linda Greenhouse is doing with her $300,000 buyout) or to "reimagne" a new career outside the newsroom.  read more »

For all the clumsiness of the McCain press folks over the past 30 hours since The New York Times published their story about their candidate's ties to a lobbyist, they scored at least one direct hit—a talking point that has appealed to and happily been dispersed by the self-involved press.

But first, the idiocy!  read more »

The New Republic exegesis on the internal divisions at the Times is up. The story is a walking chronology of what happened. Here's what we learned:

• The story began with a tip that Jim Rutenberg received in November, 2007.
• Washington chief Dean Baquet assigned Stephen Labaton and Marilyn Thompson to the assignment; David Kirkpatrick later joined in.
• John McCain made his phone call to Bill Keller in "early December."

 read more »

Bill Keller has issued this statement on the John McCain story:

On the substance, we think the story speaks for itself. On the timing, our policy is, we publish stories when they are ready.

 read more »

So that Times story about John McCain, the one the world heard about in December, was published last night.

In a nutshell:  read more »

At yesterday's series of regular all-staff meetings convened by New York Times executive editor Bill Keller (you know, the one where he announced that between 100 and 150 newsroom employees might be eliminated!), other ways of cutting the newsroom payroll were also discussed, according to two sources, including one senior newsroom source.

Staff were told that the newspaper would consider eliminating bonuses for top editors, section heads, deputies and some of the line editors (which would not include copy editors) to cut costs without elminating newsroom jobs,

One source also said that Keller talked about the possibility of eliminating a masthead-level job. There are currently 13 masthead editors, excluding the editorial page editors.  read more »

It took Bill Keller about five minutes at his "Throw Stuff at Bill" meeting at the Times Center to announce the bad news. He told the group gathered that there would be about 100 newsroom cuts through a combination of attrition and buyouts; he also cautioned there was a "real clear" possibility of layoffs, according to two people present.  read more »

Jeff Bercovici is reporting that Bill Keller told staff today that the paper is cutting 100 newsroom positions. Bercovici writes:  read more »

The teeth-chattering classes over at the new Times building are packing extra sweaters this morning after getting an email from executive editor Bill Keller about how cold the newsroom (or parts of it!) are during the present cold snap.

It seems that the elevator shafts and loading docks in the state-of-the-art Renzo-Piano designed building are funnelling cold air into the offices; and a long-term fix doesn't look too near.

Click "read more" to see the memo.  read more »

Speaking after a recent speech, Bill Keller assessed new rival Rupert Murdoch as a combative and unpredictable tabloid guy.

As reported by The Guardian, Mr. Keller said:

I don't really know what he is going to do ... I don't know Rupert Murdoch, he is a combative 76-year-old newspaper guy with a tabloid soul and more money than God.

With those resources at this stage it looks like he will do whatever the hell he wants to do. I don't think he is going to be constrained by some strategic planning consultant telling him what he can do. That makes him very hard to predict.

Bill Keller spoke in England earlier this week about the sad state of the American newspaper business. Topics included the "acid rain" of criticisms heaped upon The New York Times, the "press-phobic" Bush administration, and the newpaper-eating internet.

"Most of the blog world does not even attempt to report," Mr. Keller said. "It recycles. It riffs on the news. That's not bad. Its just not enough. Not nearly enough."  read more »

Bill Keller announced moments ago in a memo that there will be layoffs at The New York Times. He wrote that it will not affect reporters, but a hiring freeze will be strictly enforced.

He wrote:

While we are committed to retaining our competitive muscle, we will be facing some tough choices about where to save. That is why I must tell you that there are going to be layoffs in the newsroom, for the first time in recent memory. The people who are affected are not journalists, but that does not make this news anyeasier to share.

A dozen positions will be eliminated immediately, including "a number of clerical and secretarial jobs" and management positions in administrative areas.

For the newsroom: "But as many of you know, we put into place a hiring freeze several weeks ago, and except for those jobs that are critically important to our future ambitions, we intend to enforce it. As journalists resign or retire from the Company next year, we will be trying to fill their positions internally."

There is also a suggestion that The Times could cut space in their new office building.  Mr. Keller wrote "we will be rethinking coverage priorities and how we use our space and our people..."

Full memo after the jump.  read more »

At the "glittering" celebration for the opening of the Times building on Monday, publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. gave a speech in which he thanked advertisers and the building's architect, Renzo Piano.

Mr. Sulzberger did not, however, mention Bill Keller, The Times' executive editor -- or any other specific person on the paper's editorial staff -- in his speech, according to a person present. Instead he thanked the newsroom sort of generally.

In a way, that omission was fitting, since many members of the newsroom peered down during his speech from their second- and third-floor office windows with their hands and faces pressed against glass, said the source. With the exception of a few stars, the newsroom was shut out from the event.

With dwindling reserves, the Newspaper Guild finds leverage in a management filing mistake.  read more »

New York Times editor-in-chief Bill Keller went to tour Iowa on Thursday and returned yesterday. On Monday, Times political reporter Adam Nagourney emailed Media Mob about the trip...  read more »

The news raises a question: Does the decision to hire Susan Dominus to write a column suggest that the paper is looking to take the section in a different direction—something closer to Metro Styles?  read more »

In a phone interview on Friday, New York Times managing editor Jill Abramson said that the paper's editor-in-chief Bill Keller was traveling in Iowa with political reporter Adam Nagourney. During the trip, he'd meet candidates and get a flavor of the presidential race this year. Mr. Keller left on Thursday and he'll be back on Tuesday, Ms. Abramson said.  read more »

In the Times’s new online book club, Reading Room, participants (including author Francine Prose, and frequent Book Review contributor Liesl Schillinger) and moderator/Book Review editor Sam Tanenhaus are debating a new translation of Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace. Another participant is Times executive editor Bill Keller, whose thoughts on the novel seemed not irrelevant to how he perceives the paper and his role there—and reveals more than a little bit about his personality.

“Somehow I managed to make it through college and into late middle age without having read War and Peace… W&P was always too intimidating in scale, and too show-offy to bring to the beach.”  read more »

Rupert has seen the future: it’s insurgent Journal vs. ‘monolithic media.’  read more »

“Other than if you put a ruler on the paper and measure it, I’m kind of hoping it will not be that noticeable,” said Tom Bodkin, design director for The New York Times.  read more »

‘The New York Times always maintains a strict separation between its news report and its business interests,’ Gray Lady asserts.  read more »

On Thursday, June 21, The New York Times spent its last day at 229 West 43rd Street. Gay Talese returned to the gothic newspaper castle to say good-bye.  read more »

Today, a Times internal memo outlined some of the changes taking place this August, when newspaper will be 1.5 inches narrower. See below for more on that reduced news hole coming soon. No worries though, since there's plenty of space in the brand new City Room.

 

To: Newsroom
From: John MacLeod, Terry Schwadron
Subject: Narrowing the size of the newspaper page

The editions of The Times for Monday, Aug. 6 will be the first with new, narrower page dimensions. The printed page will be the same depth, but an inch and a half narrower.

To account for the changes, those in Design and News Technology have been working with colleagues in Advertising, Ad Makeup, Systems, those involved in page transmission and the printing plants to align all of the intent and coding necessary. Basically, a large number of press mechanics will changeover prepared presses at College Point, Edison and national plants on Sunday to be able to print at the new size.

There are few design changes that will be obvious to the reader, except for the overall page dimensions. There are the same number of columns per page with the exception of a slight adjustment to body type, for example. At other papers that have changed size, readers seem to have reacted positively.

Over the next weeks, page designers in the individual sections will be working with departments to produce trial pages that will give editors a feel for any adjustments. The new coding is all available in CCI.

Narrower columns mean either slightly smaller or slightly squarer photos, but for most readers. For editors, the main change will be fewer words per column and slightly tight one-column headlines are tighter. One consequence is somewhat shorter dress page runs.

A dress page column now with headline and blurb might be 720 words; without a jump, the equivalent column will be about 50-60 words shorter. While Bill Keller has been asking overall for shorter stories, the start of the narrow-measure paper will reduce specific news holes.

Page designers are working out samples to share with individual sections. Merrill Perlman is working with News Technology on a guidance sheet for copy editors.

With the start of this project looming, it seems a good time to ask all to think anew about how the measures may alter story lengths or layouts.

Feel free to ask John or Terry for details.  read more »

Several New York Times staffers have already headed over to the Tower at 620 8th Avenue, including the Editorial page. And the newsroom moves in the next week! (It's got to be all done by June 18th).

Today, a memo went out with the list of departments by floor, so reporters won't get confused in that shiny new building.

2nd floor: Business, Database Reporting, Escapes/Travel, Graphics, Investigative, News Surveys, Science, Sports, Week in Review

3rd floor: City Weekly, Clerical, Continuous News, Education, Foreign, Metro, National, News Admin, News Design, News Desk, News Executives, Obits, Regional Editions

4th floor: Arts & Leisure, Culture, Dining/Home, Picture Desk, Politics, Real Estate, Special Sections, Style, TV Studio

5th floor: Book Review, Library/Research, News Technology

6th floor: Magazine

7th floor: Magazine, News Art

Editorial was not mentioned in the email, but they'll be upstairs, on 13. And then farther up is Arthur Sulzberger Jr. himself, on the 16th floor.

 

   read more »

So it's the waning days at 229 West 43rd Street and Times folk are finally ready to party! Last night, executive editor Bill Keller sent out an email to the newsroom regarding the farewell event at the old headquarters.

The final bash will take place on June 21 at 7 p.m., on the building's 3rd floor. "Music, beer and soft drinks provided," according to the invite. However, it's strictly BYO when it comes to food and wine, it read.

And since staffers are allowed one guest, the Media Mob will now happily entertain plus one offers.  read more »

Jill Abramson was in a traffic accident this morning. Bill Keller sent a memo to the newsroom explaining what happened. Here it is:

Colleagues,
Jill Abramson was involved in a traffic accident this morning, and is in the emergency ward at Bellevue Hospital. She is conscious (in fact, she managed to be both funny and stoic through her morphine haze, so the essential Jill seems to be intact) but she has a badly broken leg and is being checked for other injuries. Her husband, Henry Griggs, is standing guard. We'll keep you posted.
Bill

Earlier this year, New York Times executive editor Bill Keller wondered publicly whether it was worth it to maintain an ombudsman position at the newspaper.

Barney Calame had the job at the time—which involves writing a column for the paper that reports on The Times’ own reporting, addressing criticisms from the outside—in a two-year appointment that followed the appointment of Daniel Okrent, the public editor hired after the Jayson Blair scandal forced the Times to take public steps to shore up its credibility.  read more »

The New York Times launched its glossy Play magazine in February 2006 as a quarterly showcase for detailed, meticulously researched, carefully crafted narratives about sports.

Last week, for fans with less patience, the magazine went into a hurry-up offense: Play is now also a weekly e-mail newsletter.  read more »

The New York Times has named Clark Hoyt, a former editor for Knight Ridder, as its new Public Editor.

The memo from Bill Keller is after the jump.  read more »

... And now they’re getting out: Grizzled Bureau Chief Burns to England, Wong to West 43rd; as security crumbles, James Glanz takes the reigns and Dexter Filkins reminisces.  read more »

Remember the good old days of angry email exchanges between Barney Calame and Bill Keller?

Now, award-winning media critic Calame is giving credit to his boss, for deciding to continue on with the public editor position.

Back in January, that was still up for debate. Here's what Keller told The Observer:

"Over the next couple of months, as Barney's term enters the home stretch, I'll be taking soundings from the staff, talking it over with the masthead, and consulting with Arthur," meaning publisher Arthur O. Sulzberger Jr., wrote Bill Keller, The Times' executive editor, in an e-mail to The Observer.

But last month, WWD reported that there would be a third public editor, and (one-time Barney hater) Jack Shafer started naming names.

While Calame didn't get into specifics on who should be the next public editor, he did heap praise on the "big shots" at the Times in yesterday's column:

Mr. Keller is now seeking someone to continue the public editor function when my fixed two-year term ends next month.... So if sometime next year the public editor describes in this space a journalistic lapse at the paper, readers would be wise to remember that Mr. Keller deserves some of the credit for sticking with the process that brought it to light.

--Michael Calderone

Today, Times executive editor Bill Keller announced that Lawrie Mifflin is leaving the video unit for a roaming, special assignment: "moving from desk to desk to help find the best ways to navigate the new world of integrated web-print journalism." Ann Derry takes over the video unit.

Full release after the jump.  read more »

Today, Times editor Bill Keller announced changes in the paper's Page 1 meeting schedule. And he insists this move is not just to get AME Rick Berke out of bed earlier: it's about web strategy.

Full memo after the jump.  read more »

From: Terry Schwadron Date: Jan 30, 2007 Subject: [NYT Newsroom] Message from BILL KELLER

Colleagues:

After guiding The Times through toxic storms and rebuilding our bureau into a dominant force in Washington coverage, Phil Taubman is returning to his first love, the correspondent's life. Phil has chosen a new mission that capitalizes on his deep experience as a foreign correspondent, investigative reporter, military historian and editor.

He will be taking on a special reporting assignment in the area of national security; we've decided to be a little secretive about the details for now for competitive reasons. He will be based in California. He will also be promoted to Associate Editor--a title previously worn by one Times journalist, Johnny Apple. It signifies both Phil's stature as a counselor to the masthead and our expectation that he will return to senior management in the future.

When Phil accepted my invitation to leave the Editorial Page masthead three and a half years ago and take over our largest bureau, he can hardly have imagined what a roller coaster ride awaited him. In the years that followed he helped the paper deal with the imprisonment of a reporter, the murder of a revered colleague, the faceoff with a hostile administration (including one tense session with the President), vilification by partisan critics, and the general anxiety of an industry in transition. His tenure also saw a succession of journalistic triumphs that shook the country and brought a shower of awards. Over the past year Phil presided over a period of ambitious rebuilding and still more ambitious journalism. He leaves behind a bureau in which a cadre of world-class bylines has been enriched by excellent new hires. He leaves behind a great editing team. And he leaves behind a bureau that has taken to heart a mandate for incisive, original, hard-hitting coverage.

And the new chief of that high-octane bureau will be Dean Baquet. Back in 2005, when Dean moved into the top job in Los Angeles, I described him as "a world-class investigator, an inspiring editor and a barrel of fun." It was hard to miss the subtext: "And I miss him."

Since then he has demonstrated that, in addition to being all of those things, he is a charismatic leader, an unflinching advocate of the value and values of professional journalism, and a cool character under fire. It's nice to have him back where he belongs, at a paper where he can devote his talents and enthusiasm fully to the practice of journalism, in a bureau that can rise to all of his expectations.

The many of you who worked with Dean before he left us in the year 2000 know what to expect from a bureau under his leadership:tough-minded, aggressive, fearless reporting, original insights, great craftsmanship and the thrill of competition. He reminds you why you got into this business, and why it matters.

Dean will take over March 5, allowing time for transition and for a little celebration of two great journalists. He will be an Assistant Managing Editor, reflecting both the depth of his experience in the upper echelons of our profession and the cross-departmental importance of the bureau.

There are undoubtedly other consequences that will follow from all of this, and I can't begin to say what they are. But here's one: Felicity Barringer, Phil's accomplice in journalism and in just about everything else, will be taking her intrepid and prescient environmental reporting and beat to California -- which happens to be a kind of national laboratory for environmental policy.

Cheers, Bill

Today, New York Times executive editor Bill Keller informed the staff that deadlines will be moved up a half hour, beginning in January. Full memo is after the jump.  read more »

The New York Times announced this evening, and in tomorrow's paper, a change in format. The paper will consolidate its printing at its College Point facility in Queens, lay off 250 employees, and reduce the trim size of the paper to the size of USA Today.

The process will take two years. In a memo, executive editor Bill Keller said the paper would add pages; the shrinkage of paper would, after the addition of more pages, only result in 5 percent less space in the newspaper. "A narrower paper is in some ways more reader-friendly," Keller wrote.

Keller also speculated that by fighting "flabby or redundant prose in longer pieces" and running more news-digest material, "I could take 5 percent out of any day's paper and actually make it better."

Keller's memo runs to 780 words.  read more »

Full memos follow, from Keller and Times president Scott Heekin-Canedy:

From: "Press Pitch" To: Sent: Tuesday, June 20, 2006 11:38 AM Subject: Move Over Cheesy Late Nite Progarmming ... Here Comes Bill!

MEDIA ADVISORY

NEW LIVE CALL-IN TALK SHOW COMING TO LATE-NITE TV

The press has crowned him the "Dr. Phil of prayer" and the Next Big Thing in Mass Media Religion."

On July 3rd America will meet the man behind the headlines--Bill Keller--who is taking on the rulers of late night TV with his groundbreaking program "Live Prayer With Bill Keller."

WHAT: "Live Prayer With Bill Keller" is a live nightly television show that tackles some of the toughest and most controversial issues of the day while offering inspiration to viewers and callers.

WHEN: "Live Prayer" will air Monday through Friday from Midnight to 1:00 a.m. ET/PT (11 p.m. to Midnight CT/MT).

WHERE: The i Network (formerly PAX TV). See the broadcast map below.

WHY: In a sea of late-night infommercials, cheesy sit-com re-runs, and racy talk shows, "Live Prayer with Bill Keller" offers a fresh and exciting alternative to traditional late-night programming.

To: [XXXX]@nytimes.com From: Bill Keller Subject: Books and Book Leaves: For the Record

To the Staff:

In the past few years we've had a tidal surge in the yearning of Times staffers to put their wisdom between hard covers. One result has been a lot of very good, even award-winning books that showcase the talents of the paper. Another has been a certain amount of stress on a hard-working staff, as important players disappear temporarily from the field. And a third has been a degree of confusion about what Times policies apply to book-writing. This is an attempt to set the record straight.

First, if you are contemplating a book, we need to know -- before you circulate a proposal or open negotiations with a publisher. Our current policy, spelled out in the ethical journalism handbook, says that anyone contemplating a book project that derives from his or her assignment or beat must notify the paper in advance. What I want to add is that whatever kind of book project you have in mind, you should contact me, Jill, John or Bill Schmidt (as well as your immediate superior) and arrange a meeting in which we can discuss whether your book-writing is compatible with your responsibilities to the paper. We should have this conversation even if you intend to write a book on your own time.

Second, there is no one-size-fits-all policy regarding book leaves. Often we ask staffers to take a pass on -- or postpone -- a book opportunity because we cannot afford to release them from the daily competition at that time. Sometimes we grant leaves, of various lengths and configurations. Sometimes we ask book-writers to temporarily leave the staff -- with written assurance they will be landed again when they finish their project -- because we cannot afford to freeze their slot. (Particularly, in the case of a long or indeterminate leave, having a book-writer go off staff gives us more flexibility to hire a replacement.) We do our best to balance the needs of the paper with the interests of staffers, but each case is unique.

Third, whether a Times staffer writes a book for our own publishing arm or for an outside publisher, he or she continues to be a representative of The New York Times. That imposes certain ethical requirements designed to protect the paper from questions about our impartiality and from perceived conflicts of interest. If reporters put material in books that calls into question their ability to be impartial journalists, they may limit their future options at the paper. This just underscores the importance of keeping us in the loop as you contemplate, plan, pitch and write a book. We can advise you on how to stay within the boundaries of our ethics policies.

None of this is new, but given the rising interest in book-writing, it probably bears repeating.

Bill

On the heels of New York Times publisher Arthur O. Sulzberger Jr.'s declaration to Charlie Rose that "morale is just great," executive editor Bill Keller is headed for a meeting with the paper's Washington bureau---the epicenter of disgruntlement over the Judith Miller case. Keller plans to meet the bureau staff today at a brown bag lunch sessio0n, a week after he canceled a similar lunch to stay in New York and deal with the Miller negotiations. According to a Times source, managing editor Jill Abramson may attend the meeting as well.

"The Washington bureau knows the topic will be Judy and where the bureau goes from here," a Times source said.  read more »

--Gabriel Sherman

"I'm tired," Judith Miller said by phone, two hours after The New York Times announced her retirement from the paper.

Miller, having reached the end of her long standoff with the Times, was preparing for tonight's previously-scheduled appearance on a panel at the Media Law Resource Center's annual dinner, along with Time reporter Matt Cooper.

"I'm really very satisfied with the agreement. I will always miss the Times, but now it was time to move on," Miller said.

"I plan to take a little time off, the time I was supposed to take before this 40-day nightmare began."

Miller said the agreement was reached today, after the Times relented and agreed to her request that she be allowed to publish a piece in the paper rebutting her critics. The piece will run tomorrow.

In announcing Miller's departure, executive editor Bill Keller also released a note he'd sent Miller, which softened the edges of some of his most pointed public statements about her conduct.  read more »

"They agreed to run an article and you know Bill graciously clarified his remarks and set the record straight," Miller said. "And that's what I wanted. I had been very upset by his choice of language, and I'm delighted to see that he clarified his remarks."

--Gabriel Sherman