Jill Abramson, the Washington bureau chief for the New York Times, will be replacing Bill Keller as the executive editor, making her the first woman ever in this position.

The New York Times writes,

Ms. Abramson will be the first woman to be editor in the paper’s 160-year history. “It’s meaningful to me,” she said of that distinction, adding, “You stand on the shoulders of those who came before you, and I couldn’t be prouder to be standing on Bill’s shoulders.”

Her selection is something of a departure for The Times, an institution that has historically chosen executive editors who have ascended the ranks through postings in overseas bureaus and managing desks like Foreign or Metropolitan.

Ms. Abramson came to The Times in 1997 ...