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| Jill Abramson keeps it light in first comments since New York Times exit | Jill Abramson keeps it light in first comments since New York Times exit |
| (1 day later) | |
| It turns out that being publicly fired from the most high-profile job in American journalism is the perfect preparation for giving advice to college graduates. | It turns out that being publicly fired from the most high-profile job in American journalism is the perfect preparation for giving advice to college graduates. |
| That’s the way Jill Abramson made it seem on Monday, in any case, delivering a witty and lighthearted address to the graduates of Wake Forest University in North Carolina in her first public comments since losing her job last week as executive editor of the New York Times. | That’s the way Jill Abramson made it seem on Monday, in any case, delivering a witty and lighthearted address to the graduates of Wake Forest University in North Carolina in her first public comments since losing her job last week as executive editor of the New York Times. |
| Abramson stuck to themes of resilience and the importance of comeback in a 15-minute commencement address that repeatedly drew belly laughs from the audience and made no display of the forbidding figure whom the Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr last week described as an abrasive manager guilty of “public mistreatment” of colleagues. | |
| Abramson called it “the honor of my life to lead the newsroom.” | Abramson called it “the honor of my life to lead the newsroom.” |
| “They know that I have some tattoos,” Abramson said, describing a chat with a student beforehand. “And one of them asked me: ‘Are you going to get that Times T that you have tattooed on your back removed?’ | “They know that I have some tattoos,” Abramson said, describing a chat with a student beforehand. “And one of them asked me: ‘Are you going to get that Times T that you have tattooed on your back removed?’ |
| “Not a chance!” | “Not a chance!” |
| Abramson struck a light tone from the beginning, walking in smiling, and receiving sustained applause as she took the lectern. She said the day belonged to the students, not to her. | Abramson struck a light tone from the beginning, walking in smiling, and receiving sustained applause as she took the lectern. She said the day belonged to the students, not to her. |
| “I think the only real news here today is your graduation from this great university,” Abramson began. “First of all, congratulations. I’m impressed that your achievements have attracted so much media attention – as well they should!” | “I think the only real news here today is your graduation from this great university,” Abramson began. “First of all, congratulations. I’m impressed that your achievements have attracted so much media attention – as well they should!” |
| The former Times editor struck an almost gleefully informal tone. “And now I’m talking to anyone who’s been dumped,” she said. “You bet. Not gotten the job you really wanted, or received those horrible rejection letters from grad school. You know the sting of losing. Or not getting something you badly want. | The former Times editor struck an almost gleefully informal tone. “And now I’m talking to anyone who’s been dumped,” she said. “You bet. Not gotten the job you really wanted, or received those horrible rejection letters from grad school. You know the sting of losing. Or not getting something you badly want. |
| “When that happens, show what you are made of.” | “When that happens, show what you are made of.” |
| Abramson’s speech played out on a beautiful day on campus, under bright sunshine with morning temperatures hovering around 60F, and some wind batting mortar board tassels around. “I want us to take a moment to focus on the purity, promise and hope of this moment,” the class president said before the former editor spoke. | Abramson’s speech played out on a beautiful day on campus, under bright sunshine with morning temperatures hovering around 60F, and some wind batting mortar board tassels around. “I want us to take a moment to focus on the purity, promise and hope of this moment,” the class president said before the former editor spoke. |
| Abramson, a graduate of Harvard, said she kept in mind advice from her father as she dealt with the pain of being dismissed. | Abramson, a graduate of Harvard, said she kept in mind advice from her father as she dealt with the pain of being dismissed. |
| “Very early last Thursday, my sister called me,” Abramson said. “She said: ‘I know dad would be as proud of you today as the day you became executive editor of the New York Times.’ I’d been fired the previous day, so I knew what she was trying to say. It meant more to our father to see us deal with a setback and try to bounce back than to watch how we handled our successes. Show what you are made of, he would say. | “Very early last Thursday, my sister called me,” Abramson said. “She said: ‘I know dad would be as proud of you today as the day you became executive editor of the New York Times.’ I’d been fired the previous day, so I knew what she was trying to say. It meant more to our father to see us deal with a setback and try to bounce back than to watch how we handled our successes. Show what you are made of, he would say. |
| “What’s next for me? I don’t know,” Abramson said. “So I’m in exactly the same boat as many as you! And like you, I’m a little scared, and excited.” | “What’s next for me? I don’t know,” Abramson said. “So I’m in exactly the same boat as many as you! And like you, I’m a little scared, and excited.” |