James Bennet Returns To The New York Times As Editorial Page Editor

NEW YORK -- Atlantic editor-in-chief James Bennet is returning to the New York Times as editorial page editor, the paper announced Monday. Andy Rosenthal, who served a decade in the high-profile perch, will step down to focus on writing. 

Bennet, 49, joined The Atlantic in 2006 from The Times where he had spent over 15 years in roles ranging from Jerusalem bureau chief to magazine writer to auto industry reporter. A highly regarded journalist, Bennet helped reinvigorate The Atlantic, leading it to numerous journalism prizes, including last month's National Magazine Award for "Magazine of the Year." He was also elected last month as president of the American Society of Magazine Editors.

Though Bennet may be best known as a magazine editor who has provided leadership to a talented stable of writers like Ta-Nehisi Coates, Jeffrey Goldberg and Molly Ball, he also returns to The Times with experience on the business side of publishing, having served the past two years as The Atlantic's co-president. During Bennet's decade-long tenure, The Atlantic's web traffic has grown significantly without sacrificing quality and, despite industry-wide tumult, the legacy print magazine has become a profitable business.

The Times, under previous executive editor Jill Abramson, courted Bennet in 2013  about returning to the paper in a senior-level position. It wasn't clear at the time what responsibilities Bennet might have had at The Times. Also, then-managing editor Dean Baquet was widely considered to be next in line for the top job, which is how events played out . 

Bennet's new role is not only one of the most prestigious at The Times, but also puts him in contention to one day lead The Times. In late 2014, Baquet did away with the role of managing editor, traditionally second-in-command in the newsroom, and there’s no clear successor among more than a half dozen deputy executive editors and assistant editors. Baquet, 59, will need to leave the newsroom's highest-ranking position by age 65, according to Times policy.

While the two most recent executive editors, Abramson and Baquet, came directly from the news side of the operation, the previous two -- Howell Raines and Bill Keller -- shifted into that role from the opinion side. Raines was editorial page editor and Keller a columnist when tapped to steer the newsroom. 

As editorial page editor, Bennet will join The Times' 10-member executive committee and will report directly to chairman Arthur Sulzberger Jr. 

In a statement, Sulzberger said those who worked with Bennet had hoped he'd someday return. 

"James is an extraordinary talent, known as much for his journalistic curiosity and judgment as he is for his originality and spirit of innovation," Sulzberger wrote. "I am so very pleased to welcome him back to The New York Times and look forward to his many contributions to our future success.”

Bennet said in a statement that "it's a tremendous honor to have the chance to succeed Andy Rosenthal, an editor I’ve known and looked up to since I covered politics for him at The Times 20 years ago."

Rosenthal, who has led the editorial page for the past decade, will continue writing for The Times, where he's been mostly focused on the 2016 election . 

Sulzberger, who has been publisher since 1992, announced a succession plan for himself in November that included a deputy publisher to be named within two years. Rosenthal, in a statement, said the publisher's discussion about succession spurred him to begin thinking about his own plans to one day step down.

Rosenthal said he feels "very honored to have served in this position for longer than any editorial page editor in the modern history of The Times" Sulzberger praised Rosenthal for reinventing the editorial page for the digital age during his tenure, as well as the more behind-the-scenes impact he has had at The Times. 

“Less well known is the key role that Andy played as a leading advocate for some of the company’s biggest recent decisions – from the launch of the digital pay model in 2011 to the recent crafting of our strategy document, 'Our Path Forward,'" Sulzberger wrote. "Andy truly redefined what it means to be editorial page editor by understanding and undertaking an important role in the leadership of the company."

Rosenthal said he's "very happy that in James, the editorial department will be left in the care of such an accomplished, influential and smart journalist."

Bennet joins the Times on May 2. 

The Atlantic announced Monday Bob Cohn, most recently co-president with Bennet, would take the helm as the magazine's sole president. Cohn and Atlantic owner David Bradley will also now search for a new top editor. 

Bradley heaped praise on Bennet in a Monday memo, writing that he helped chart a course for a magazine that needed fresh editorial vision and which was losing $10 million a year at the time he took the helm. The magazine is now profitable, which Bradley said “is unthinkable, maybe unconscionable, for a thought-leader magazine." 

“The Times is the world's greatest newspaper; even so, they could not do better than James Bennet,” he added.