Change of the Guard At the Times

"It's up!" The word spread through the newsroom like a FLASH-IMMEDIATE wire bulletin. What was up, one afternoon last week, was a single sheet of white paper, thumbtacked to The New York Times's third-floor notice board and signed by Publisher Arthur Ochs ("Punch") Sulzberger, announcing a shake-up among top Times editors. Highlights of the memo: -- "James Reston, Executive Editor, has been elected a Vice President with primary responsibility in the areas of news coverage. He will return to Washington and will continue his three-times-a-week column from there." -- "Clifton Daniel, Managing Editor, will become Associate Editor with a group of new duties. He will head up a series of special projects and will supervise the New York Times News Service." >-"Abe Rosenthal, Associate Managing Editor, and before that, Assistant Managing Editor and foreign correspondent, will become Managing Editor." -- "Seymour Topping, Foreign News Editor, will become an Assistant Managing Editor."

Long before the memo was posted, perceptive Times staffers had read the writing on the wall. It had been no secret that, at 59, "Scotty" Reston--resident sage and star columnist--had not enjoyed the managerial duties of his executive editorship. It was also well known that he much preferred Washington to New York and felt that his column had suffered since he was moved away from his capital sources.

Nor did Managing Editor Clifton Daniel's shift come as a surprise to many. Ever since Reston took command as executive editor over Daniel in May of 1968, it had been generally assumed that Daniel, 59, would be denied the full editorial control that his predecessor, Turner Catledge, had enjoyed.

Most predictable of all was Abe Rosenthal's ascension to Daniel's job. With Reston's blessing, the innovative and energetic Rosenthal, 47, had, in fact if not in name, been running the paper for months. Significantly, when Reston returns to Washington--probably next month--Rosenthal will report directly to the publisher.

Strong Right Hand. The tipoff, Reston says, came last December when he made Rosenthal associate managing editor with license to ride herd on the "bullpen"--the traditionally sacrosanct bank of rewrite editors. Finally, the appointment of able, amiable Seymour Topping, 47, as assistant managing editor gives his good friend Rosenthal a strong right hand. "Nearly two years ago," Sulzberger summed up, "we began seriously to plan the transition to the next generation . . . That mission has been accomplished."

The only surprise was that the announcement came sooner than expected. The changeover machinery, including the promotion of Reston to vice president, was geared to the retirement of Vice President Turner Catledge, which would have been mandatory in early 1971 when Catledge turns 70. But five weeks ago, Catledge told Sulzberger he would retire at once, and Sulzberger and Reston set in motion the plan to install Rosenthal as top editor. When Cat-ledge changed his mind about retirement, the publisher decided to go ahead with the change anyway and created a new vice-presidential slot for Reston.

There was no mention in the memo of Assistant Managing Editor Harrison Salisbury, who now plans to write a book on the Times. It might be argued that Gay Talese's bestselling saga of the Times--The Kingdom and the Power--makes Salisbury's effort unnecessary. After the events of last week, however, at least one new chapter seems in order.

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