Have Ombudsman, Will Travel
Exiting Washington Post Ombudsman Michael Getler (who began his farewell this past Sunday) is headed to PBS, according to a press release this morning (Romenesko). From the release:
As an independent internal critic, Mr. Getler will seek to ensure that PBS upholds its own rigorous standards of journalistic ethics for both online and on-air content. His reports and commentary will be published on pbs.org, the third most trafficked dot-org on the Internet. Mr. Getler … will have complete authority to determine what issues are examined and full independence in assessing them.Getler's five years as ombudsman came on top of 26 years of working for the paper in various capacities. Here's a bit of his Sunday column:
It is very hard to measure whether any of this has any real impact. The Post is a fine newspaper. It is also an important newspaper. To remain strong, it needs to be challenged -- not by ideologues or forces seeking to destroy those who look under the wrong rocks -- but by readers who demand and value hard-nosed reporting, fair and insightful analysis, and high journalistic standards that provide confidence in what is being reported."We look forward to his final column this week, and his future work at PBS.