Q&A: A new kind of public editor is taking on the entire city of Indianapolis

Tracey Compton discusses a pilot designed to bring accountability and media literacy across multiple local newsrooms

Tracey Compton is stepping into a first-of-its-kind job in journalism. She’s the Indianapolis Public Editor, serving the entire market in a pilot project that launches with her first column next week.

This new job reimagines the once common public editor position, otherwise known as the newsroom ombudsman. Instead of examining the work of a single newsroom, Compton will answer audience questions about all the newsrooms in Indianapolis. Through her columns, she’ll explore the strengths and weaknesses of the local news organizations, looking at their community service and their journalistic values. Her goal is to strengthen overall news literacy of the people living in Indianapolis.