New York (BBN)-In a surprise move, the New York Times newspaper has announced that it has replaced executive editor Jill Abramson - the first woman to lead the paper - with immediate effect.
Dean Baquet, 57, the paper's managing editor, has been named as the replacement, reports BBC.
Arthur Sulzberger Jr, chairman of the New York Times company, did not give a reason for the sudden change.
Earlier on Wednesday, the first female editor of France's Le Monde resigned.
Abramson, 60, was appointed in 2011.
In a statement, she said: "I've loved my run at The Times. I got to work with the best journalists in the world doing so much stand-up journalism."
Baquet, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who formerly edited the Los Angeles Times, will become the first African-American to lead the paper.
Shares in the company fell more than 4.5 percent, ending the day at $15.06.
The New York Times recently reported net income of $1.8m, and said that both print and advertising sales had grown for the first time in several years.
Also on Wednesday, Natalie Nougayrede, editor in chief of Le Monde, quit after a power struggle with senior staff.
In a letter, published on Le Monde's website, she wrote of "personal attacks" that impeded her plan to turn around the newspaper.
BBN/ANS/AD-15May14-9:30am (BST)