ink-stained wretches

Arthur Brisbane Will Be the New Times Public Editor

Clark Hoyt, the Times public editor whose two-year term was extended another year in 2009, will finally get to hang up his in-house critic’s cap this summer. He’s set to be replaced by Arthur Brisbane, a former publisher and editor of the Kansas City Star and reporter at the Washington Post. According to the Times’ job description, “the public editor works outside of the reporting and editing structure of the newspaper and receives and answers questions or comments from readers and the public, principally about articles published in the paper. His opinions and conclusions are his own.” Hoyt wrote his own farewell column two weeks ago in the paper, citing his crusade against biased reporting and the use of anonymous sources as some of the high points in his difficult career. No doubt Brisbane — who assumes the mantle while the paper heads into an extremely contentious midterm-election season, during some of the most drastic financial and environmental crises of the decade — knows he’s got his work cut out for him.

The Times Announces New Public Editor [Media Decoder/NYT]

Arthur Brisbane Will Be the New Times Public Editor