What does the public editor do?

Ensuring accountability is the top priority for those with ‘loneliest job in the newsroom’

I have heard in recent weeks from many readers seeking greater understanding of the role of the Toronto’s Star’s public editor.

The role of Star “ombudsman” was established here in 1972 by then-president and publisher Beland H. Honderich to give readers of Canada’s largest newspaper “one central person to deal with on all matters involving fairness or accuracy . . .”

The title was changed to public editor in 2005 (two years before I took on the role) but serving the Star’s many readers and ensuring the accuracy and ethical standards of the Star’s journalism remains the core mandate of this office.

The position — which represents the Star’s strong commitment to accountability and transparency — is independent of the Star’s newsroom, reporting to the publisher, not the editor.

Being outside the newsroom gives the public editor essential latitude to weigh in on public complaints and, when called for, make clear to our audiences how newsroom journalists fall short of the Star’s journalistic standards. Being outside of the newsroom also means that the public editor has no say in newsroom decision-making.

The Star is one of only two Canadian newspapers with a public editor, with the Globe and Mail having created the position in 2012. CBC and Radio-Canada are the only Canadian broadcast organizations that have ombudsmen to judge audience complaints.

While the parameters of the role are somewhat different at each news organization, we four Canadian public editors and ombudsmen are all members of the Organization of News Ombudsmen, a global group of news ombudsmen, public editors and readers’ editors.

ONO has literally written the book on the scope of this role. In its 2008 handbook, The Modern News Ombudsman, it describes our jobs as “unique and essential.” The guide was written by Toronto’s Jeffrey Dvorkin, a former CBC executive, the first ombudsmen at NPR in Washington and now director of the journalism program at University of Toronto, Scarborough campus.

“The ombudsman can show the public how the media organization works, and can get answers when a newspaper or broadcaster appears to slip up,” Dvorkin states. “When there is more accountability, there is better journalism.

“S/he is there to connect the public with the media organization to assure that the content produced is of the highest standards. And if not, why not,” the ONO guide tells us. “The readers, listeners and viewers deserve no less.”

Indeed, for me and public editor associate Maithily Panchalingam, this role is primarily about readers. You, after all, are the Star’s “core customers.” And while you now come to the Star for 24-7 news and information published on several platforms, not just in the newspaper, everyone here is keenly aware that the Star’s core product — however we deliver it to you — is credibility.

Certainly in this digital era when information is always and easily available from many questionable sources, the question of where readers turn for credible information is more vital than ever. As the ONO guide states: “Trust is the common currency that media organizations require for their continued credibility.”

So what does the Star’s public editor’s office do? Most important, we strive to be as accountable and transparent as you expect all Star journalists to be. Panchalingam and I investigate all claims of error and questionable Star journalism brought to us by readers and sources in the news. We publish corrections and clarifications in the paper and online when necessary — because readers are not always right, either. Between us, we connect with several hundred readers each month through email, telephone and, increasingly, social media.

I also explore more significant issues related to questions about the Star’s journalistic standards and write columns that address those times when the Star’s journalism falls short of those standards.

Being accountable for mistakes and missteps is never easy for anyone and journalists are well known for too often being defensive and thinskinned in the face of criticism. On this matter, I concur with Ian Mayes, the first reader editor for the Guardian, who told a 2010 gathering of ombudsmen, “Why should the news media, which almost by definition call for others to be accountable for what they do, not be accountable for what they do themselves?

“The media should be seen to be practising what they preach,” he said.

The ONO handbook refers to this job as “the loneliest job in the newsroom” and adds, “Why would anyone want this job, which to the uninitiated can seem like being the grumpy in-house scold.”

Ouch! While we aim to strike a balance to be neither newsroom scolds, nor newsroom apologists, but rather to assess complaints fairly based on the Star’s journalistic standards, you can be sure we have our challenging days when it feels as if someone from both the newsroom and the public is cross with us for our judgments.

But, here’s the most significant lesson I’ve learned in the eight years I’ve had the privilege of serving the Star and its readers in the public editor role: We can never please everyone. We can only strive to do what we believe is fair. publiced@thestar.ca