The New York Times announced Wednesday morning that Elizabeth Spayd will be its sixth public editor.
Spayd, currently editor and publisher of Columbia Journalism Review, will join The New York Times later this summer.
Per custom, Spayd will report to Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., the publisher of The New York Times, who praised her appointment in a statement.
Liz is an exceptionally accomplished journalist. Her work at CJR along with her long and successful history at The Washington Post have given her a broad range of experiences that will serve us well as she assumes this critical position serving as a reliable and engaged representative of our readers.
The public editor of The New York Times is responsible for reviewing coverage of the paper’s journalism and responding to reader complaints. Under Spayd’s predecessor, Margaret Sullivan, this often resulted in critiques of some of the newspaper’s most controversial stories — on workplace culture at Amazon, Hillary Clinton’s email imbroglio and an exposé on New York’s nail salons.
Before joining CJR, Spayd was a managing editor of The Washington Post, where she oversaw more than 600 journalists.
Spayd was among the finalists disclosed in a recent story from The Huffington Post, along with Debra Adams Simmons, the former editor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Sullivan offered her successor some advice on Twitter Wednesday.
Memo to @spaydL: Best of luck as next NYT public editor. Hang tough and bring your body armor. https://t.co/QF7pTfUENS HT: @mlcalderone
— Margaret Sullivan (@Sulliview) May 18, 2016
