One thing new in yet another year of “Ombudsmen in a Time of Transition” — this year’s theme — may be online updates as the annual conference of the international Organization of News Ombudsmen (ONO) unfolds.
Not to be confused with a blog, those reports, if all goes as planned, should be found on our home page (www.newsombudsmen.org) beginning tomorrow, thanks to our Web master and former Virginian-Pilot ombudsman, Kerry Sipe.
As many of you read this today, I and fellow ONO directors will be huddled in the board meeting that prefaces our annual conference, this time at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. Our sessions kick off Monday morning at the Nieman Foundation’s Lippman House on the university campus.
And as longtime Post readers know, our meeting each year around this time serves as a peg to let me tell what this readers forum called the Listening Post is all about.
Ombudsmen — from the gender-neutral Swedish word that translates to intermediary in English — fill roles similar to mine as expressed in this column most Sundays. We are staffers specifically designated by our news organizations around the world to independently address the concerns of readers, viewers and listeners. The objective is to help make our organizations more open and accountable.
Some news organizations go through the motions while dodging independent criticism. But any item in the newspaper can be fair game for a Listening Post discussion illuminating how the newspaper works, whether from the standpoint of accuracy, balance or fairness. In this column I air what readers think, what the newspaper’s staff — editors, writers, photographers and others — think and even what I think. But not what you should think. After I’ve done my job of laying out the various issues and viewpoints, I leave you to do that for yourself.
The column predated me of course — longtime readers may recall when Post columnist Thom Smith was our Listening Post editor. But as many of you also know, I’ve been at this awhile, thanks to the paper’s management and readers. So much so that I can recall giving the introduction when vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro addressed our 1990 meeting in Williamsburg, Va.
Although I am the longest-serving news ombudsman in the world, to our knowledge, I am not the oldest and hardly a pioneer. In addition, there are several more blacks serving than when I was the sole such ombudsman after the late Robert Maynard performed those duties at The Washington Post. And there are more women.
Delegates from 13 nations are expected to be among the 50-odd members and guests at our Harvard meeting. Another thing new in recent years, as I’ve mentioned in previous columns, is the tremendous growth in numbers of news ombudsmen outside of North America. In contrast, even as ombudsmanship is blossoming around the world, our organization’s secretary reports that The Boston Globe has not appointed a new ombudsman to replace Richard Chacon, who recently left to join the staff of Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, and, as we understand it, there are no plans to do so.
As does any organization, ONO continues to experience growing pains. The members who years ago spurned media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s reach for credibility, turning down his invitation to host our annual meeting, now face such questions as whether the members abroad, the obvious growth area, should have more clout, starting with getting to host more meetings.
Speaking of what’s new, I’m particularly interested in the session titled, “Is There a Shared Watchdog Role for the Public, the Blogs and Ombudsmen?”
Another session, “Ombudsmen in the Digital Future,” will feature one of my favorite ombudsmen, ONO President Ian Mayes, and one of my favorite editors, Alan Rusbridger, both of one of my favorite online newspapers, The Guardian of London.
For a sense of how the ONO sessions help us do our jobs, consider that other topics include “Biting the Hand that Feeds You.” Speakers for that one include former Washington Post ombudsman Joan Byrd, a member of the blue-ribbon committee that recommended that The New York Times appoint an ombudsman. “Looking Back and Looking Forward,” will feature longtime friend Henry McNulty, The Hartford Courant’s first ombudsman, and Dan Okrent, the first public editor for The New York Times.
Comparing notes at our meetings not only helps us better serve readers at our papers. It also helps us stay sane while constantly floating in the middle of the conversation between our newspapers and our readers.
I’ve noted above our organization’s apt acronym, “ONO,” as in the “Oh no!” that you can imagine we might hear from colleagues at our news organizations. Of many terms heard from various scribes and readers to describe us, here’s one I haven’t mentioned: “Ombudsman: Writer of Wrongs.”
C.B. Hanif is an editorial writer and ombudsman for The Palm Beach Post. Items for Listening Post may be sent to lp@pbpost.com
