The New York Times will emerge an even stronger newspaper than before despite the Jayson Blair scandal, which has already cost the paper two of its most senior editors, the president of the company told the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) conference.
Ms Janet L. Robinson, who is accompanied at the conference by several colleagues, refused to be downhearted about the paper's current tribulations, which, some speculate, could claim the job of even its proprietor, Mr Arthur Sulzberger jnr.
However, she said, no matter what happened to the paper, the journalists and executives would "rebuild its reputation".
Ms Robinson, who is president and general manager of the New York Times, said efforts were under way to strengthen newsroom "management systems" and "journalistic practices" and this would help the company to "produce an even better newspaper for our readers".
Speaking at the international conference could not have been easy in the current climate for Ms Robinson, but in the question and answer session afterwards she told delegates she understood why other media outlets were covering the story.
"I don't think any other media outlet took it as seriously as we did ourselves," she said.
She said the kind of issues raised in the Jayson Blair scandal existed at large, but it was "unfortunate it happened to us".
She said the paper had been hardest on itself and had published a 7,440-word article telling readers what Jayson Blair had done and what it meant for the paper. She said since then the paper had pulled together a great deal of investigative material and had published clarifications when required.
She said a committee had been set up, known as the Seagull committee, to look at management systems within the paper.
"While this has been a difficult time, we remain steadfast in our commitment to produce the best newspaper we can by adhering to the highest standards of integrity and journalism.
"But hopefully we will all learn and benefit from this experience. Looking forward, we have no doubt that the Times and journalism will emerge from this stronger." She said she hoped to attend the next WAN conference in Istanbul.
"At that conference the paper will have the stunning reputation it has enjoyed for 152 years," she said.
The editor of the paper, Mr Howell Raines, resigned last week after one of the most embarrassing journalistic scandals in American media history prompted criticism of his managerial ability. The paper's managing editor, Mr Gerald Boyd, who was appointed by Mr Raines, also resigned.
The saga began when the paper discovered that Jayson Blair, a 27-year-old reporter, had "committed frequent acts of journalistic fraud".
An internal investigation of his work revealed extensive plagiarism, deception and inaccuracies relating to 36 of the 73 articles he wrote between October 2002 and April of this year.
Blair's resignation on May 1st was followed by a front-page story and a humiliating correction. Blair would later boast that he had "fooled some of the most brilliant people in journalism".
Last week another reporter, Pulitzer-winner Rick Bragg, resigned days after the editor suspended him on full pay pending an investigation.
Bragg admitted that an unpaid assistant had done virtually all of the reporting for a story on fishing in Florida for which he took credit.
Addressing the conference, Ms Robinson stressed the achievements of the paper during its history.
She said it was now a truly national title and its reputation was strong enough to allow the company to move the brand into other arenas, such as television and the Internet.
She said the company's decision to purchase 100 per cent of the shares in the International Herald Tribune was a historic step and the company was now trying to develop that brand further.
She said the New York Times was such a strong international brand it was now offering advertisers cross-continent deals.
Asked about the paper remaining a family-owned entity, she said the ownership of Arthur Sulzberger jnr and his family represented what was best about newspapers. "They are very devoted to a public trust," she said. She added that the family had put money into the paper during the hard times.