Deborah Needleman (Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images for The New York Times International Luxury Conference)
In a memo to staffers today, New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet announced Deborah Needleman will be stepping down from her role as editor at T. Needleman replaced Sally Singer in fall 2012 after serving as editor-in-chief at WSJ. magazine. She is also a founding editor-in-chief at Domino magazine, which folded in 2009. According to the memo, Needleman is leaving at her own will and will be taking a break. During her tenure, she was responsible for hiring Alexander Fury as chief fashion correspondent, and Marie-Amélie Sauvé as fashion director, replacing Joe McKenna.
Read the full memo from Baquet, below:
“Dear Colleagues,
During her four years as editor of T, Deborah Needleman has turned the magazine into a wildly creative mix of design, literature and high style. It is vital to our coverage of fashion and culture.
So I’m sorry to report that Deborah has decided to leave us. I’ll let her tell you what she will do next, but it mainly consists of taking a break and enjoying more of the world that T so vibrantly covers. She has built a tremendous staff, and they will continue producing one of the world’s most beautiful magazines while we decide who will succeed her.
It would have been enough for T to be just aesthetically pleasing, a place for great photography, stunning interiors. But Deborah turned it into something much more. It featured — even championed — artists whose work could be difficult. It discovered writers and published poetry. Under Deborah, T ceaselessly explored the landscape of art and culture.
In the coming days I’ll be picking Deborah’s brain, and spending time with Whitney Vargas and Minju Pak as we decide on a successor.
Join me in congratulating Deborah for an amazing run.
Dean”
