New York, June 06: The two top 'New York Times' editors resigned on Thursday amid an unrelenting scandal sparked by a reporter who plagiarised and fabricated dozens of stories at the nation's most influential newspaper. Executive Editor Howell Raines and Managing Editor Gerald Boyd emerged from a morning meeting and told stunned staff in the newsroom they were quitting, Times reporters said.

The plagiarism scandal sparked by former reporter Jayson Blair gripped the Times in recent weeks but was also a catalyst for a look at ethics and standards in the media. The departures came despite earlier comments by Publisher and The New York Times Co. chairman Arthur Sulzberger Jr. that he stood by his team and would not accept their resignations.

"Given the events of the last month, however, Howell and Gerald concluded that it was best for The Times that they step down," said Sulzberger, whose family has controlled the Times for 107 years.
Since his 2001 appointment by Sulzberger, Raines helped spur Times staff to eight Pulitzer Prizes. But the latest controversy exposed sagging morale and brewing dissatisfaction with his management style, which many saw as hierarchical, distant and based on making stars out of selected reporters. Bureau Report