Washington Post Eliminates Ombudsman Position

The Washington Post announced its decision two weeks after the paper's last ombudsman, Patrick Pexton, published a column suggesting his position would be eliminated

The Washington Post has confirmed its own ombudsman's hunch and announced on Friday that it has cut the 43-year-old position.

"We have been privileged to have had the service of many talented ombudsmen (and women) who have addressed readers’ concerns, answered their questions and held The Post to the highest standards of journalism," publisher Katharine Weymouth wrote in a message Friday to Post readers. "Those duties are as critical today as ever. Yet it is time that the way these duties are performed evolves."

Also read: Washington Post May Cut Ombudsman; New York Times Shills for Lee Radziwill

Instead, the Post plans on following the  lead of other newspapers by appointing a reader representative who, unlike an ombudsman, will be an employee of the newspaper.

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