Abramson has operated as managing editor of the Times since 2003. She served as Washington bureau chief for the paper from 2000 to 2003, having left a nine-year stint as deputy bureau chief and investigative reporter for The Wall Street Journal.
Last year, Abramson temporarily stepped away from her duties as managing editor to run the Times's online operations, a move she initiated to experience the integration of the paper's print and digital staffs, she said in an interview with the Times published Thursday.
Keller, whose tirades against social media have proved popular fodder for online media as of late, will continue at the paper as a full-time writer and Sunday opinions columnist. He served as executive editor for eight years.
Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., publisher and the chairman of The New York Times Company, said that the decision to step down was entirely Keller's and that he accepted his resignation “with mixed emotions.”
Meanwhile, current Washington bureau chief and former Los Angeles Times editor Dean Baquet will assume the role of managing editor.