The Full New York Times Innovation Report

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By Jason Abbruzzese2014-05-16 20:40:19 UTC

An internal report on innovation at the New York Times acquired by Mashable highlights the paper's struggle to embrace digital publishing.

A partial version of the report, which BuzzFeed acquired Thursday, highlights some of the issues that former executive editor Jill Abramson was meant to address. That report was missing pages 2, 9, 19, 21 and 22.

See also: 6 Digital Challenges for The New York Times' New Editor

Abramson was replaced with Dean Baquet earlier this week in a move that stunned Times staffers.

Baquet addressed the leak in an email to staffers, noting that the report was never meant to be seen outside the company.

"It is very candid and was meant to be an honest investigation of where we are and need to be — and for that reason was never intended for wide circulation," Baquet wrote. "Now the full report is out, and perhaps that is a good thing, because we are proud of the report and what it says."

Following Abramson's dismissal, a series of details concerning tension between her and Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., and CEO Mark Thompson emerged, along with details about a possible pay discrepancy.

Baquet, who does not have a deep digital publishing history, will now be in charge of addressing the concerns in the report.

"The best companies constantly look for ways to get better. They embrace change, rather than simply telling themselves how good they are. As great as we are journalistically, there is much more to be done digitally," he wrote.

The full report from the Times is embedded below.

The Full New York Times Innovation Report

The email from Baquet:

Colleagues —

Last week, we sent to all of you a memo outlining the key recommendations of the Innovation Report from a team that included some of the smartest people in the newsroom. It focused on the most important things we need to do to continue innovating digitally.

Here is the draft report given to the newsroom leadership. It is very candid and was meant to be an honest investigation of where we are and need to be — and for that reason was never intended for wide circulation.

Now the full report is out, and perhaps that is a good thing, because we are proud of the report and what it says.

The best companies constantly look for ways to get better. They embrace change, rather than simply telling themselves how good they are. As great as we are journalistically, there is much more to be done digitally.

That honest appraisal is what I and the masthead found so invigorating when we first saw the report. It is smart and thoughtful both in questioning our traditions and suggesting how we can – and must – build on the many things we do so well.

The report calls for us to move with urgency. I couldn’t agree more. That’s why Ian Fisher and I are already starting to implement many of these recommendations.

Have a read, and give us your thoughts.

- Dean

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Topics: Business, Media, The New York Times