Feature

Paper Chase

The race is on to succeed Howell Raines at the Times. Our field guide to some likely (and not so likely) contenders.

By Carl Swanson
Published Jun 16, 2003

Bill Keller
Times columnist; Raines also-ran
The scoop: Well-respected former managing editor, Lelyveld’s man. Career full of the usual top-shelf worldly experience.
The dirt: Extremely uncuddly, and not buddies with Pinch Sulzberger.
The color: Dude, he’s for decriminalizing pot!
Odds: 3–1

Gail Collins
Times editorial-page editor
The scoop: Female, non-arrogant, friend of Pinch’s wife.
The dirt: No newsroom constituency, news heft, or fashion sense.
The color: Huge Survivor fan.
Odds: 20–1

Dean Baquet
Former Timesman, now L.A. Times managing editor
The scoop: Well-liked, well-regarded, and black.
The dirt: Heir presumptive in L.A., and unlikely to be let go easily.
The color: Could bring back N.Y. Timesers in exile in L.A.
Odds: 2–1

Marty Baron
Boston Globe editor
The scoop: Has run newsrooms (including the Times’, at night), won Pulitzers.
The dirt: Cold, distant, bearded. And would leave a hole at the Globe, a Times Co. property that works.
The color: Has an M.B.A.
Odds: 3–1

Walter Isaacson
President, Aspen Institute
The scoop: Reinvigorated Time with his showbiz news instincts and glad-handing.
The dirt: Connie Chung and his general failure at CNN.
The color: Joel Stein on the op-ed page?
Odds: 40–1

Andrew Rosenthal
Times assistant managing editor
The scoop: A member of Raines’s inner circle, he managed to disappear when things went south.
The dirt: A member of Raines’s inner circle.
The color: Is the Times really ready for Abe’s son?
Odds: 10–1

Jill Abramson
Times D.C.-bureau chief
The scoop: Stood up to Raines (her bureau might’ve performed the key coup de grâce on him when Sulzberger paid a visit).
The dirt: More likely for managing-editor slot.
The color: Would her Raines-backed arch-rival, Patrick Tyler, finally get the D.C. job?
Odds: 20–1

Tina Brown
Times of London columnist
The scoop: Gets Sulzberger’s high-low instincts.
The dirt: Might have budget issues.
The color: Tells us she’d put “Frank Rich back on the op-ed page.”
Odds: 200–1

Funny Cide
The scoop: Would bring a stable of writers. More communicative than Al Siegal.
The dirt: Cannot read or write.
The color: Huge (possibly only) fan of “Escapes” section.
Odds: Even