'Sac Bee' Drops Public Editor Position -- Trend Continues

By: Joe Strupp The Sacramento Bee is dropping its public editor position as of Sept. 1, according to a memo to staffers from Publisher Cheryl Dell.

This continues a trend in many such positions being eliminated in the wave of job cuts.

The memo, first posted on the Poynter.org Romenesko site, states that the move is "part of our ongoing restructuring, a process that has involved a constant focus on our mission and the priorities that serve that mission."

The memo says that current public editor, Armando Acuna, will remain with the paper as associate features editor. Acuna's last column will be Aug. 31.

"The public editor role has been a valuable part of The Bee's operation for several decades," Dell wrote. "Armando has excelled in the job since 2005, and the change reflects in no way on his performance. Instead, the decision acknowledges several realities, the most pressing being our company's need to focus our resources on newsgathering, advertising sales and customer service. We are examining every position with an eye on these priorities.

"Times have changed since the era in which many ombudsmen and public editor jobs were established," Dell added. "Readers now have multiple ways to be heard within the newspaper and in the community. Bee journalists are accessible via email, and we publish their phone numbers as well. Our story comments let readers complain openly about parts of coverage they do not like. Newspapers in general have become more accessible to the public. Most recently, Editor Melanie Sill has been writing a weekly column as a way to converse regularly with readers. And I interact with readers via phone or e-mail virtually every day."