A public editor is a position existing at some news publications; the person holding this position is responsible for supervising the implementation of proper

journalism ethics Journalistic ethics and standards comprise principles of ethics and good practice applicable to journalists. This subset of media ethics is known as journalism's professional "code of ethics" and the "canons of journalism". The basic codes and c ...

at that publication. These responsibilities include identifying and examining critical errors or omissions, and acting as a liaison to the public. Most commonly, public editors perform this work through a regular feature on a newspaper's

editorial An editorial, or leading article (UK) or leader (UK) is an article written by the senior editorial people or publisher of a newspaper, magazine, or any other written document, often unsigned. Australian and major United States newspapers, such ...

page. Because public editors are generally employees of the very newspaper they're criticizing, it may appear as though there is a possibility for bias. However, a newspaper with a high standard of ethics would not fire a public editor for a criticism of the paper; the act would contradict the purpose of the position and would itself be a very likely cause for public concern. Many major newspapers in the U.S. use the public editor column as the voice for their

ombudsman An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...

, though this is not always so. Public editor columns cover a broader scope of issues and do not have an accreditation process, while in order to qualify as an ombudsman of any standing one must be a member of the

Organisation of News Ombudsmen The Organization of News Ombudsmen and Standards Editors (ONO) is a modern, international non-profit organization. ONO membership comprises news ombudsman, readers' representatives and standards editors from around the world, working online, in prin ...

. The first newspaper to appoint an ombudsman was Tokyo's ''

Asahi Shimbun is one of the four largest newspapers in Japan. Founded in 1879, it is also one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan. Its circulation, which was 4.57 million for its morning edition and ...

'' in 1922; the first American newspapers to appoint a public editor were the ''

Louisville Courier-Journal The ''Courier Journal'', also known as the ''Louisville Courier Journal'' (and informally ''The C-J'' or ''The Courier''), and called ''The Courier-Journal'' between November 8, 1868, and October 29, 2017, is the highest circulation newspape ...

'' and '' Louisville Times'' in 1967. At ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', the position was created in response to the Jayson Blair scandal. The ''Times first public editor was

Daniel Okrent Daniel Okrent (born April 2, 1948) is an American writer and editor. He is best known for having served as the first public editor of '' The New York Times'' newspaper, inventing Rotisserie League Baseball, and for writing several books (such as ...

, whose background was primarily in book publishing; Okrent held the position from December 2003 through May 2005. Over the next twelve years, five persons in succession held the position, but then on May 31, 2017, the ''Times'' announced that it was eliminating the public editor position.

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