"THE WASHINGTONIAN"
Insiders Say Berke NYT's Next DC Bureau Chief; Tyler Likely to Remain in Exile
If the New York Times were the Kremlin, Jill Abramson's elevation from Washington bureau chief to managing editor would signal a power boost for Richard Berke and continued exile in Iraq for Patrick Tyler.
Berke, the veteran political writer, is the odds-on favorite to succeed Abramson as head of the Washington bureau. Tyler, who was tight with deposed chief Howell Raines, finds himself further out of power.
"Rick is the sentimental favorite," says one Times reporter in Washington. "He's very well liked. Anyone else would be a surprise."
There are, as expected, other names floating to the surface in the talkative Washington bureau. Stephen Engelberg, who left the Times for the Oregonian in Portland, was among those mentioned as a potential bureau chief, along with Times editors Alison Mitchell and Steve Erlanger.
But reporters had to reach deep for names other than Berke, who has been Washington editor for a year and a half.
Berke declined to talk about his possible ascent. But he did interrupt his vacation Thursday to make an appearance at the bureau and listen to new executive editor Bill Keller announce Abramson's promotion over the squawk box. She will share managing-editor duties with John Geddes, now a deputy managing editor.
Says Times spokesman Toby Usnik: "We will be moving to fill the bureau-chief position in as timely a manner as possible."
Berke, 44, is a native Washingtonian. He grew up in the Maryland suburbs and went to Bethesda?s Walt Whitman High School. He graduated from the University of Michigan and Columbia School of Journalism.
His first reporting job was with the now-defunct Baltimore Evening Sun. He worked in the Washington bureau with Jack Germond and Jules Witcover in 1985. The New York Times hired him in 1986, and he's worked mostly as a political reporter in the Washington bureau.
In 1993, Berke became the Times's national political correspondent, a post held previously by Times heavies R.W. "Johnny" Apple and Raines.
"Rick Berke was an extremely hard-working political scribe," says Washington Post media writer Howard Kurtz. "He had a knack for getting ahead of the curve and pushing his stories onto the front page. He was able to drive a story."
Berke's success drove Jill Abramson to appoint him Washington editor, essentially her deputy, and put him in charge of the bureau when she was not around.
Patrick Tyler became part of the Washington power structure when Raines brought him back from foreign assignments and installed him in the DC bureau. Washington was rife with rumors that Abramson was on the way out and it was only a matter of time before Tyler, Raines's fishing buddy and handpicked chief, would take over.
Tyler is a longtime Times reporter who has corresponded from Moscow and the Middle East. He's also been through several journalistic controversies. As a reporter for the Washington Post, he was involved in a lengthy libel suit over his stories about Mobil Oil Corporation, which the Post eventually won. At the Times he has come under scrutiny for his close relationships with the Saudis, especially Ambassador Prince Bandar.
Tyler is reporting from Iraq and was not available for comment.
Rick Berke's prospects would appear to be very good now that Jill Abramson has been appointed one of the Times's two managing editors. Having Berke as bureau chief would give Abramson a trusted connection to the daily's most important newsroom outside Manhattan.
Berke has never worked closely with Bill Keller, but the two know each other.
There is some speculation that Berke's lack of foreign experience might require a deputy who could help in that area. Times White House correspondent David Sanger has been mentioned as a potential Washington editor.
Should he get the job, Berke would have to fill the shoes of some legendary journalists. Michael Oreskes preceded Abramson, but the job also has been held by James Reston, Tom Wicker, Bill Kovach, Howell Raines, and Johnny Apple.
HARRY JAFFE
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