Can Dean Baquet save Times Digital?

[Commentary] As Dean Baquet takes over as executive editor of the New York Times, a looming question hovers beyond the scandal surrounding Jill Abramson’s bloody ousting: How will Baquet handle the necessary digital transformation facing “All the news that’s fit to print”?

Baquet sent a memo to staff ensuring them that he will "move with urgency" on the recommendations of a recent internal "innovation" report, which was submitted in late March and warned that the Times' "journalism advantage is shrinking" as it is surpassed by new digital competitors.

But Baquet, while widely admired throughout the newsroom, is not known for his digital savvy. He's described as "print-forward," "page-one obsessed." Younger staff members note that he's never even written a tweet.

So the most important indication of Baquet's commitment to digital will be who he selects as his number-two, staffers said. If he taps a digital-forward managing editor, it will signal that he is serious about the need to grow in the online and mobile spaces, which will be essential to the Times' future success.

“If he hires the right deputy maybe it will work. But the signals he is sending are so much business as usual it’s very hard for me to imagine he’s capable of leading that type of change," a former staffer said.