At Channel 10: Ombudsman No More

For years, WJAR-TV was one of the only local television stations in the country - perhaps the only one - to employ an ombudsman, an independent arbiter of journalistic practices who weighs in on fairness in coverage, conflicts of interest for journalists and the like.

But no more. Back in July, the station dropped the position.

Paul Giacobbe served as WJAR's first investigative reporter (1979-1982) before leaving journalism to become a lawyer. He returned as the station's ombudsman over 14 years ago.

He took the part-time job right before WJAR's last general manager, Lisa Churchville, came to the station. "The best friend that the ombudsman position had at Channel 10 was Lisa Churchville," Giacobbe told me.

Giacobbe said he moved to Florida in May and Churchville told him to stay on until the end of the quarter, in June. She told him she planned to name the station's former news director, Betty-Jo Cugini, to replace him when he left.

But Churchville, herself, retired June 30. And the departing ombudsman was never replaced. Giacobbe, who made $6,000 per year in the position, said he was told the decision was made to save money.

I checked in with Vic Vetters, who worked for TV stations in Burlington, Vermont and Utica, New York before taking over for Churchville, and he said my call was the first he was hearing of the ombudsman position at the station. At $6,000, he said, the money is not a real concern. But the station will have to weigh whether it's "smart" to restore the position.

"This is a brand new issue," he said, this morning, "so I haven't really thought it through."

Jeffrey Dvorkin, the Toronto-based executive director of the Organization for News Ombudsmen, said he was "sorry" to hear of the elimination of the position at WJAR. He said ombudsmen make news organizations more credible to the public.

Dvorkin said he's seen growth in the number of ombudsmen in Latin America of late. But the economic downturn, which severely impacted an already struggling American media, has meant a decline in ombudsmen in the United States. He said his organization lost 13 members in 2008 and has gained four since then.

Dvorkin said that, when it comes to local media, public broadcasting has shown the most interest, of late, in adding ombudsmen to their staffs.