Former NYT editor Abramson plans news site with Brill

Jill Abramson, the former New York Times executive editor who was abruptly fired in May, said Monday she is partnering with journalist Steven Brill to start a news startup and is pitching the idea to investors.

"He and I will be doing one big story a year," Abramson said as she revealed her plans in a live interview with New York Times media columnist David Carr on NPR's "WBUR Live." The show and members of the audience tweeted her comments.

Early in her career, Abramson worked at legal publication The American Lawyer, which was founded by Brill.

Abramson, the first woman to be named to the highest editing position at the Times, is currently teaching journalism at Harvard University. Her ouster shocked the newsroom and triggered heated discussions about whether sexism played a role in publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr.'s decision to replace Abramson with her deputy Dean Baquet.

Sulzberger said Abramson was fired for her management style, including "inadequate communication and the public mistreatment of colleagues."

Before joining the Times, she spent nine years at The Wall Street Journal.

Brill, who continues to write for various publications, is also a serial entrepreneur. He founded CourtTV, media criticism magazine Brill's Content, airport security check-in program Clear, and news site paywall management service Journalism Online.