Washington Post ends ombud program, ‘will appoint a reader representative’

The Washington Post
“The world has changed, and we at The Post must change with it,” Washington Post Publisher Katharine Weymouth tells readers.

We will appoint a reader representative shortly to address our readers’ concerns and questions. Unlike ombudsmen in the past, the reader representative will be a Post employee. The representative will not write a weekly column for the page but will write online and/or in the newspaper from time to time to address reader concerns, with responses from editors, reporters or business executives as appropriate.

Patrick Pexton left as Post ombudsman on Feb. 28 when his term expired; in a widely discussed column he wondered whether he’d be the last person to hold that title.

Previously: Pexton: Ombudsman can get answers from reporters who won’t answer readers