PBS adds Post ombudsman

PBS announced Wednesday that it has selected Michael Getler, the ombudsman for the Washington Post, to fill the newly created post of ombudsman.

Getler, whose contract with the Post ends this month, will begin his new job on Nov. 15. He will report to PBS President Pat Mitchell but will function as an “independent internal critic” of both broadcast and online content, according to the network. His reports will be published on pbs.org.

PBS established the ombudsman position after a recommendation earlier this year by a panel of journalists who reviewed the organization’s policies and practices. The move comes six months after the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which distributes federal funds to public broadcasters, hired two of its own ombudsmen to evaluate the content of PBS and National Public Radio.

*

-- Matea Gold