Blogs

Where We're Headed

By Brian Montopoli

January 12, 2007 / 4:30 PM EST / CBS News

(CBS)

Public Eye has been around for more than a year now, but we're still very much a work in progress. And that's as it should be: After all, we're in largely uncharted territory here. Print journalism has long embraced the idea that it is worthwhile for someone within the organization to function as a critic and a representative of the public – this person is usually called an "ombudsman." But the concept has yet to be widely embraced in television news.

We are not exactly ombudsmen, of course – Public Eye has a mission much wider than that. We are tasked with helping the public understand how the news gets made, get to know the people behind it, and get a handle on the trends and traditions that shape coverage. The basic idea is to make the organization more transparent – even if that transparency sometimes reveals flaws.

That's why we take people inside editorial meetings, talk to producers and correspondents about how they go about their jobs, and introduce readers to the people that put out the news. It's also why we take on issues that media outlets like CBS News are sometimes reluctant to talk about. Sometimes we air criticisms from outsiders and ask CBS News decision makers to respond to them. Other times we are the critics ourselves.

I am the second editor of Public Eye, having replaced founding editor Vaughn Ververs, who is now senior political editor for CBSNews.com. When we started Public Eye, I think it's fair to say that many within CBS News viewed us warily. But despite some rocky moments, I believe we've earned their trust. And we've established credibility with those outside of CBS News who believed that we would be unable to bring real transparency to the organization.

Now comes the fun part: An opportunity to maintain our standards of fairness and quality while taking the site in a new direction. Look for new features in the coming months as we build on our foundation and try out some fresh ideas. We're looking forward to the challenge of building Public Eye, and we hope that you'll stay with us as we continue to refine the site and help usher in a new era of transparency at CBS News.