Newspapers need ombudsmen

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on May 22, 2007 at 1:07 PM

Alan Rusbridger, editor of the Guardian, has called for newspapers – especially in the UK – to appoint more readers’ editors. Indeed, the role of ombudsmen has seemingly diminished in the digital age, at a time when it is even more crucial.

"I don't think ombudsmen are a panacea to all the challenges this new digital age is throwing up," he told the Organisation of News Ombudsmen conference in Harvard.

"But I think a refusal to have some kind of independent system embedded within news organisations, as we all come under more and more intense scrutiny, looks increasingly odd."

While ombudsmen probably won’t solve newspapers’ business struggles, they are essential to the development and upholding of journalism ethics, as new media still seek their rules and boundaries.

In the UK, according to Rusbridger, only the Guardian and Observer “have a truly independent court of appeal for readers - or, indeed, for anyone wanting to challenge, or complain about, the journalism."

He suggested editors may be reticent to lose editorial control over their paper, and that managers could be deterred by the costs of regulated complaints procedure.

The basic realities of new media, web-first publishing and citizen journalism, should in fact place even more importance on readers’ editors and the right to challenge the accuracy of news.

Source: Media Guardian