After 28 years at the New York Times Company, Janet Robinson will retire at the end of December from her role as chief executive, a position she’s held since 2004. The period saw much upheaval in the newspaper business, something Robinson touched on in her announcement e-mail to the staff: “Obviously, the last few years have been tough as, together, we have navigated one of the most difficult periods in publishing history,” she wrote. “It is probably an understatement to say that transitioning from a traditional print journalism model to the digital world has been an enormous challenge.” The company’s share price when Robinson started was $35.23; as of this morning, it was $7.54.
Reporting on Robinson’s replacement, the Times’ flagship paper says the company “could look to the technology sector for a new chief executive as its businesses shift to online formats,” a move Time Inc. made recently. During the search for a new CEO, Times Company chairman and Times publisher Arthur O. Sulzberger Jr. will be in charge.
In exchange for “two-year non-competition, non-solicitation and non-disparagement covenants, a three-year cooperation covenant and an indefinite confidentiality covenant,” plus her consulting services, Robinson will be paid $4.5 million over the next year.
