Are Press Ombuds In Decline?

The Democracy Project laments the apparent decline of the press ombudsman movement, which once promised 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.” According to the Democracy Project, membership in the Organization of New Ombudsmen has dropped from 44 in 2001 to 36 at present. (Democracy Project.)