"Accomplished feminist" now executive editor of the NY Times

Well, according to Eleanor Smeal, anyway. You thought the Times had a sort-of-kind-of feminist bent before? Hold onto your hats! Well, we'll see, I guess. In any case, congratulations to Ms. Abramson and good luck to her in her new position. (She has a lot of challenges in front of her getting the Times competitive in a digital -- ie, free -- news age. And indeed, the Times is not alone in this.)

'Statement by Eleanor Smeal, Publisher of Ms. and President of the Feminist Majority:

The selection of Jill Abramson, an accomplished feminist, as executive editor of The New York Times, which is not only the most influential newspaper in the United States, but also the premier online news platform, smashes a barrier to women's achievement in print and digital media.

This is all the more important because it comes at a time when women's rights are under attack in Congress and state legislatures. Additionally, women are still only one-third of executive editors and one-fifth of presidents, publishers and CEOs of major U.S. newspapers. Globally, women hold only 27 percent of top news management positions. Hopefully the elevation of Jill Abramson to the pinnacle of The New York Times will spur the advancement of women in management throughout the industry.'

NY Times article: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/03/business/media/03paper.html
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jill_Abramson