by: Liz Kowalczyk | Boston.com

Jill Abramson, New York Times executive editor, criticized the Obama administration’s aggressive prosecutions over leaks during a speech to journalists in Boston on Saturday, warning that White House policy “threatens to rob the public of vital information.’’

Abramson, who took over as executive editor last September, said several reporters who have covered national security for decades have told her that “the environment has never been tougher or information harder to dislodge. One Times reporter told me, ‘The environment in Washington has never been more hostile to reporting,’ ’’ she said.