BREAKING: The New York Times Announces Its Next Editor

Dean Baquet is expected to step down in June. Monica Schipper/Getty Images.

Let the parlor games end: The New York Times has announced its next top editor.

Joe Kahn, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and longtime Beijing bureau chief who was promoted to managing editor of the paper in 2016, will succeed Dean Baquet as executive editor.

In a memo to Times staff obtained by Mediaite, publisher A.G. Sulzberger announced Kahn will be taking over from Baquet in June.

The selection was widely expected: The Times has a mandatory retirement age of 65 for top editors (Baquet turns 66 this September) and in recent months, the rumor mill all but confirmed Kahn as his successor.

Joe Kahn. Celeste Sloman/The New York Times.

“For many people, especially those who have worked alongside Joe — a brilliant journalist and a brave and principled leader — this announcement will come as no surprise,” Sulzberger wrote in his memo to staff.

“Joe brings impeccable news judgment, a sophisticated understanding of the forces shaping the world and a long track record of helping journalists produce their most ambitious and courageous work.”

The succession caps off a remarkable eight-year run for Baquet atop the Times, which he inherited during a period of turmoil, and leaves a thriving media empire.

“In the last eight years, Dean has brilliantly led The Times through an unbelievably challenging and consequential period, from guiding our transformation into a truly digital newsroom to confronting the escalating pressures on independent journalism to keeping pace with a historic flood of giant news stories,” Sulzberger wrote.

He cited the paper’s coverage of the #MeToo movement, the success of The Daily podcast, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning “1619 Project” as successful endeavors under Baquet.

“It is difficult to imagine a leader who could have guided our newsroom so fearlessly — and at the same time, with such grace and warmth,” he wrote.

Baquet will not be retiring from the paper. Sulzberger said he “will remain at The Times to lead an exciting new venture, which we’ll share more details about in the coming weeks.”

The Daily Beast reported in February that Kahn could be replaced as managing editor by a triumvirate of Times veterans all sharing the duties: Deputy Managing Editor Carolyn Ryan, Assistant Managing Editor Marc Lacey, and Deputy Managing Editor Cliff Levy.

This story is breaking and will be updated…