On Wednesday , when New York Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. told his staff that he had dismissed executive editor Jill Abramson , he cited an `` issue with management in the newsroom '' and said he would n't get into the details . On Saturday , he concluded that he had to -- and he sent a detailed 475-word statement to the press that listed Abramson 's shortcomings . The unsparing statement came after days of news reports that questioned whether Abramson was the victim of sexism . Allies of Abramson told The New Yorker that she had spoken up after finding out that she 'd been paid less than her predecessor in the job , Bill Keller . On Saturday , Sulzberger acknowledged that her firing had been `` cast by many as an example of the unequal treatment of women in the workplace . '' `` Rather than accepting that this was a situation involving a specific individual who , as we all do , has strengths and weaknesses , a shallow and factually incorrect storyline has emerged , '' Sulzberger said . He asserted that her total `` pay package '' -- not just her salary , but stock and other compensation -- `` was comparable with Bill Keller 's ; in fact , by her last full year as executive editor , it was more than 10 percent higher than his . '' Then he listed what he said were the management issues that led him to abruptly replace her with Dean Baquet , who had been managing editor for news . The statement came as a surprise because until Saturday , it appeared that both sides had agreed not to speak publicly about her departure . `` Jill is an outstanding journalist and editor , but with great regret , I concluded that her management of the newsroom was simply not working out , '' Sulzberger said in the statement . `` During her tenure , I heard repeatedly from her newsroom colleagues , women and men , about a series of issues , including arbitrary decision-making , a failure to consult and bring colleagues with her , inadequate communication and the public mistreatment of colleagues . '' Sulzberger said he `` warned her '' that she `` risked losing the trust of both masthead and newsroom '' if she did not improve . `` She acknowledged that there were issues and agreed to try to overcome them . '' The Times reported earlier this week that Abramson had retained a consultant to `` help her with her management style . '' Sulzberger said `` it became clear , however , that the gap was too big to bridge and ultimately I concluded that she had lost the support of her masthead colleagues and could not win it back . '' He did not specify when this became clear . He reportedly met with Baquet and listened to concerns about Abramson earlier this month . Through a spokeswoman , Sulzberger declined a followup interview request on Saturday . Abramson has not responded to interview requests since Wednesday . Her daughter -- who has used Instagram to communicate about the shakeup at The Times -- wrote on Friday , `` The story is n't over , not even close . '' Opinion : Was Jill Abramson fired because she is a woman ?
New York Times publisher dismissed executive editor Jill Abramson on Wednesday . News reports afterward questioned whether Abramson was a victim of sexism . On Saturday , Arthur Sulzberger Jr. gave more details in a statement to the media . Among terms used : `` ... arbitrary decision-making , '' `` public mistreatment of colleagues ''