NY Times former managing editor dies

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Gerald Boyd, a prominent American black journalist and former managing editor of The New York Times who was forced to resign after a young reporter under his leadership was involved in a plagiarism scandal, has died. He was 56.

Boyd died on Thursday at his Manhattan home after complications from lung cancer, a New York Times spokeswoman said.

Becoming the first black journalist to rise to various top editing positions at The Times, Boyd resigned from the paper along with executive editor Howell Raines in June 2003, after former reporter Jayson Blair fabricated and plagiarized stories.

Boyd shared the blame for the controversy, which caused upheaval within the newspaper's ranks and a wider debate on media ethics.

"He left the paper under sad circumstances, but despite all of that, he left behind a great reservoir of respect and affection," Bill Keller, executive editor of The Times, said in a statement according to The Times obituary.

Boyd, born in St Louis, Missouri, once worked as a grocery bagger before becoming a journalist and eventually rising through the top ranks of The New York Times, according to The Times obituary.

He headed award-winning coverage of the first World Trade Center bombing in 1993, a series on the complexities of race relations in the United States, as well as the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.

He was named managing editor of the paper in 2001, after having served as deputy managing editor for news since 1997.

Before that, Boyd had been assistant managing editor from 1993 until 1997. He joined the Times in 1983 and became senior editor in January 1991.

He is survived by his wife, fellow journalist Robin Stone, and his 10-year-old son, Zachary.

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