Contrary to what Robert Thomson said last week, the Wall Street Journal is not the only news organization refusing to retreat in the face of a changing media climate. Just days after Thompson announced a coordination effort between all of the Journal's print, wire, and online services, the New York Times unleashed a plan to combine the Websites of the International Herald Tribune and the Times, as well as a complete redesign of the IHT. From a memo sent by Bill Keller, obtained by FishbowlNY:

The global landscape for online news is highly competitive, making scale, speed and resources essential to success. Therefore we have determined that the best future online for the IHT and the NYT globally is through a joint international presence. We are proposing that this be achieved through a new co-branded international homepage and internationally focused section fronts for business, culture, sports, luxury and travel through the merger of the Web sites and operations of the IHT and NYT. This "international edition" on NYTimes.com would carry both IHT and NYT branding and users could arrive at these pages directly either via the IHT.com URL or via NYTimes.com.

Additionally, Marty Gottlieb, who has worked both at the Times and the IHT, will be global editor (though he will be replaced at the end of the year). His deputies will be Alison Smale and Len Apgar. Don't know who they are? Next time you're at a café in Europe and you want something to read with your delicious coffee and your questionable pastry, that's when you'll be glad they're there.

NYT Reorganizes International Herald Tribune [Mediabistro/FishbowlNY]
Earlier: Thomson Streamlines the ‘Journal’ Masthead Even Further