The New York Times announced Wednesday that veteran journalist Elizabeth Spayd will join the newspaper this summer as its sixth public editor.
Spayd became the managing editor of The Washington Post after 25 years of reporting and editing for the paper, and most recently served as the editor-in- chief and publisher of the media-focused Columbia Journalism Review.
Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger called Spayd “an exceptionally accomplished journalist.”
“Her work at C.J.R. along with her long and successful history at The Washington Post have given her a broad range of experiences that will serve us well as she assumes this critical position serving as a reliable and engaged representative of our readers,” Sulzberger said in a statement.
Spayd replaces Margaret Sullivan, who left the Times in February to become a media columnist for the Post. Sullivan was lauded during her tenure for opening a direct line of communication with readers that allowed them to air concerns about holes in the newspaper’s coverage, anonymous sourcing and false balance.
The Times created the public editor position in 2003 in response to a highly-publicized plagiarism scandal involving fabrications by reporter Jayson Blair.
Huh, the female editor is Spayd…but we already knew that.
I must admit I did a double take on that headline
How long will this last? Remembering Jill Abramson.
They wanted her to change her surname to Windowdressing…
I know nothing about this woman. But knowing the NYT and it’s openness and receptivity to constructive criticism, one suspects she’s been picked to be the Rich Little who follows the prior year’s Stephen Colbert.