Former New York Times Executive Editor Jill Abramson has signed with publisher Simon & Schuster for her first book since she was fired last year after a series of alleged clashes with newsroom staff.
Although the amount of the deal was not revealed,
the New York Post claimed that the rights sold for around $1 million after a brief auction this week, which was more than the expected price.
Referring to Abramson's sudden dismissal, a spokesman for the book publisher said: "It is not a score-settling book. We haven't announced a publication date yet, but Jill is writing and reporting as we speak."
However, the Post says that the news of Abramson's book "will make a few nervous people" inside the liberal newspaper, popularly known as the "Old Gray Lady."
Politico reports Abramson, 60,
will be writing about "the evolving state of media in the information age and what it means for the future of news," according to Simon Schuster.
In a statement to the Post, Abramson said: "I've been a front-line combatant in the news media's battles to remain the bedrock of an informed society.
"Now, I'm going to wear my reporter's hat again to tell the full drama of that story in a book, focusing on both traditional and new media players in the digital age."
Abramson, after 10 years with The Wall Street Journal, moved to the Times as managing editor for eight years before becoming the newspaper's first female executive editor in September 2011.
She was axed by New York Times Publisher Arthur "Pinch" Sulzberger, Jr., in May 2014 — four months shy of her third anniversary in the position.
"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 in a statement at the time.
"I discussed these issues with Jill herself several times and warned her that, unless they were addressed, she risked losing the trust of both masthead and newsroom. She acknowledged that there were issues and agreed to try to overcome them. We all wanted her to succeed.
"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."
His
comments launched a firestorm of feminist controversy with complaints surfacing that she was fired because she was a woman.
But Abramson told TV hoist Katie Couric: "I don't see gender as being the whole explanation by any means of what happened. Management style was what was said."
Abramson, however, also cast doubt on the reasons for her termination, saying "I was fired because of my quote-unquote management skills. To be honest with you, I'm still trying to figure out exactly what that means."
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