Unlike Howell Raines, who wanted to transform the newsroom, Abramson preached newsroom continuity.

NEWYORKER: Changing Times

Their favourite target has long been the New York Times, where they helped to remove the paper's previous editor, Howell Raines.

ECONOMIST: Lexington

The executive editor, Howell Raines, won plaudits after being appointed two years ago and quickly guided the paper to seven Pulitzer Prizes.

ECONOMIST: Crisis management for a top media brand

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Howell Raines.

CNN: What's behind Mitt's meltdown

Last year, Howell Raines, then editor of the New York Times, eventually fell on his sword in the wake of a similar scandal involving his own star reporter, Jayson Blair.

ECONOMIST: The newspaper industry

In September of that year, convinced that the Times had become lethargic, Sulzberger chose Howell Raines, a distinctly hot personality who had been running the editorial pages, to succeed Joseph Lelyveld, a preternaturally cool Times lifer, as executive editor.

NEWYORKER: Changing Times