A Disappointing Move by the Washington Post

[Commentary] The Washington Post's decision to eliminate its ombudsman position is truly disappointing.

An ombudsman provides an excellent avenue for a news outlet to engage in a true conversation with its audience. Having an independent figure to hear readers' complaints, and then investigate and write about them, says eloquently that a news organization takes its responsibilities and its customers seriously. At a time when the public holds the media in such low regard, you would think the position would be more popular than ever. But financial pressures have made newsroom ombudsmen an endangered species. Jeffrey Dvorkin, executive director of the Organization of News Ombudsmen, told me recently that 14 news outlets had eliminated the position in the wake of the 2008 recession hit. Now we can add another casualty to the list. Dvorkin says that only about 20 U.S. media outlets employ ombudsmen. The Post's decision is particularly poignant since the paper was one of the first in the United States to create the position. It did so in 1970, three years after the first news ombudsmen in the nation went to work at the Louisville Times and Courier-Journal.