Jill Abramson
From Philosopedia
Jill Ellen Abramson (19 March 1954 - )
Abramson became the executive editor of The New York Times in September 2011, the first one in the newspaper's 160-year history.
Born in New York City, she is the daughter of Dovie and Norman L. Abramson, both now deceased. Her sister is Jane O'Connor.
On 14 March 1981, Abramson married Henry Little Griggs III, and they have two children, Cornelia and Will. Griggs. who then was president of Triad, a political public relations company, has described himself as a “writer, editor and media-relations consultant specializing in nonprofit advocacy campaigns."
On May 8, 2007, Abramson was seriously injured in a truck-pedestrian traffic accident at the intersection of Seventh Avenue and 44th Street, a few blocks from The New York Times's Times Square headquarters. She and her husband reportedly filed a lawsuit seeking damages from the truck's driver, owner and operator, accusing them of "negligence, carelessness, and recklessness," causing her "to suffer severe and serious personal injuries to mind and body," and "great physical pain and mental anguish
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Education
A graduate of the Ethical Culture Fieldston School, in 1976 she earned a B. A. in History and Literature from Harvard University.
Careers
- Professor: Princeton University (2000-01)
- The New York Times, News Managing Editor (1997-)
- The Wall Street Journal, (1988-97)
- Legal Times, Editor in Chief (1986-88)
- The American Lawyer, senior staff reporter
- Time (1973-76)
- ProPublica Journalism Advisory Board
The Journalist
During the turbulent Spring 2003 period, Abramson was the Washington Bureau chief for The Times. It was when an impending war in Iraq was likely and when a reporter – Jayson Blair – was found to have plagiarized and been non-professional as a reporter for the newspaper. This led to the resignation of Executive Editor Howell Raines and Managing Editor Gerald Boyd, whereupon. Abramson was named to the news Managing Editor position (with co-Managing Editor John M.Geddes) and by Raines' successor Bill Keller.
In 1995, Abramson and her The Wall Street Journal colleague (and Fieldston alumna) Jane Mayer co-authored Strange Justice: The Selling of Clarence Thomas, which after their research led to their lament that Justice Clarence Thomas had been confirmed but they should he had lied.
In 2001, she was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
In 2007, she testified in the perjury trial of Scooter Libby, United States v. Libby. She was called as a defense witness to undercut the credibility of Judith Miller. Miller's reporting was found to have been false, and she had to quit her job at The Times.
Personal
On 8 May 2007, Abramson was injured in a truck-pedestrian traffic accident at the intersection of Seventh Avenue and 44th Street. The accident and a journalistic account of her rise in the newspaper world is found in Ken Auletta's "Changing Times, Jill Abramson takes charge of the Gray Lady" in The New Yorker (24 October 2011).
Abramson is not a member of any of the organized religions nor has she gone on record as favoring any specific philosopher.
Auletta describes Abramson's interest in acting:
- In her sophomore year, Abramson performed as an English flapper in Noël Coward’s “Hay Fever.” The Crimson’s critic, Ruth C. Streeter, was unimpressed. “Jill Abramson vamps madly in her part as the inane and brainless ingénue,” Streeter wrote, “but her squeaky voice, exaggerated walk, and batting eyes quickly become tiresome.”
She has not returned to acting, she reads widely, and is a humanities humanist.
