R.I.P. Chevy Ombudsmen

In 2001, there were 44 U.S. members of the ombudsman organization. In 2008, there are 36.

The ombudsman movement once promised us and itself to be true “readers representatives,” delving inside their venues to investigate what went wrong.

Instead, most ombudsmen spend their valuable space occasionally correcting a minor matter but most often telling customers that they’re wrong to expect integrity or accuracy.

The New York Times’ ombudsman, Clark Hoyt, epitomizes this current, telling us that the primary reason to have disclosure of reporters’ relationships with partisans is “to make the newspaper less vulnerable to attacks” rather than to prevent reasons for attacks.

A former newspaper reporter bemoans, correctly, the rush to the bottom, of journalism, information and short-term profits, by major cities’ newspapers.

An observer of the business of journalism argues that the middleman is being superceded by more direct access to the news, and by more balance in reporting.

The continuing decline of newspapers’ economics portends more cuts.

Will ombudsmen continue to be Chevy salesmen, in lots emptying of customers, or will they use their access within to point out how well the new competitors are doing and why? If they care to not attend shrinking conventions, they should start doing their job of being “readers representatives.”