Jill Abramson Firing Sparks Media Outrage Over Equal Pay Issue

Media Alley

Media reports gather steam that New York Times editor was fired over demanding equal pay

The revelation that Jill Abramson may have been fired as executive editor of The New York Times after confronting top brass over being paid less than her predecessor Bill Keller has led to a Twitter uproar.

Media writers including journalism professor Emily Bell, influential women bloggers like Rachel Sklar, non-profit organizations and casual observers alike balked at the idea that a woman might have lost her job for bringing up an issue of equal pay. One blogger dryly referred to Abramson being too “bossy,” a reference to Sheryl Sandberg’s new “Ban Bossy” campaign.

And while The New York Times denied that Abramson received unequal pay, a rising chorus of media reporters – including NPR’s David Folkenflik – confirmed the initial report by The New Yorker’s Ken Auletta. Auletta wrote that Abramson challenged publisher Arthur Sulzberger over her compensation being “considerably less” than her predecessor.

Also read: Behind Jill Abramson’s NY Times Departure: Was Unequal Pay Involved? (Updated)

Folkenflik tweeted “can now report that I have independently confirmed that Abramson did indeed challenge corporate brass over what she saw as unequal pay.” The issue is clearly still sensitive, and more so considering the company in question is a left-leaning newspaper.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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