Press: A Power Shift Within the Kingdom

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Some staffers fret that Frankel may have difficulty putting his stamp on the paper as long as such key Rosenthal lieutenants as Gelb and Greenfield remain in place. Both, however, face mandatory retirement in less than three years, enabling Frankel to select his own deputies from a younger cadre of Times-men. Among the candidates: Assistant Managing Editor Craig Whitney, 43; Foreign Editor Warren Hoge, 45; and Metropolitan Editor John Vinocur, 46, who is expected to become editor of the Paris-based International Herald Tribune, which is partly owned by the Times.

The younger generation's climb to the very top may not be far down the road. Within five years, Publisher Sulzberger will reach retirement age, and many assume that his son and heir apparent Arthur O. Sulzberger Jr., 35, will put his own team into place. But that may not happen immediately, and at 56, Frankel could still enjoy a longer tenure than a two-term U.S. President. Meanwhile, Times staffers will have to start memorizing a new date. Frankel's birthday is April 3. --By Richard Zoglin. Reported by Bonnie Angelo and Frederick Ungeheuer/New York