The New York Times Names Arthur S. Brisbane Public Editor

The New York Times today named its next public editor, Arthur S. Brisbane, a journalist and news executive with 34 years experience, including as publisher and editor of The Kansas City Star and as a reporter and editor at The Washington Post. Mr. Brisbane begins his three-year assignment this summer.

In making the announcement, Bill Keller, executive editor of The New York Times, said, "We have found someone we think can ably fill Clark Hoyt's shoes. In a career spent mostly with Knight Ridder, Art has been reporter and columnist, editor and publisher, corporate executive and consultant.”

"His assignment is to hold us accountable to our own standards, to serve as an advocate for the interests of readers, and to give readers an independent eye into the workings of this great news organization,” added Mr. Keller.

Mr. Brisbane, 59, is the fourth public editor appointed by The Times. He succeeds Clark Hoyt. The first public editor of the newspaper was Daniel Okrent, named in 2003. The public editor works outside of the reporting and editing structure of the newspaper and receives and answers questions or comments from readers and the public, principally about articles published in the paper. His opinions and conclusions are his own.

Mr. Brisbane’s column will run in the Opinion section at least twice a month on Sundays. Additionally, Mr. Brisbane will publish periodic commentaries about The Times’s journalistic practices and current journalistic issues in general, to appear when he believes they are warranted. The public editor’s e-mail address, public@nytimes.com, is published regularly in The Times.

After starting his newspaper career in 1976 at the Glen Cove (New York) Guardian, Mr. Brisbane began working for the Kansas City Times in 1977, where he wrote a Metro column and authored a book of columns, Arthur Brisbane’s Kansas City. He joined the Washington Post in 1984 as a reporter, covering issues for the National and Metropolitan desks before becoming Assistant City Editor.

In 1990 he joined The Kansas City Star as a Metro columnist, became editor of the newspaper in 1992 and publisher in 1997. He was named senior vice president for Knight Ridder, Inc. in 2005 and is currently consulting for organizations such as the Nieman Foundation.

Mr. Brisbane is a graduate of Harvard College.

About The New York Times Company

The New York Times Company, a leading media company with 2009 revenues of $2.4 billion, includes The New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe, 15 other daily newspapers and more than 50 Web sites, including NYTimes.com, Boston.com and About.com. The Company’s core purpose is to enhance society by creating, collecting and distributing high-quality news, information and entertainment.

This press release can be downloaded from www.nytco.com