Clark Hoyt left last week after a very competent but rather unexciting term as the NYT's third public editor. Today, they named his replacement: Arthur Brisbane, former Washington Post editor and reporter, editor and publisher at The Kansas City Star, and Knight Ridder exec. He went to Harvard. He'll fit right in.

Kick some ass, Arthur Brisbane! Here's the memo that went out to staff:

From: Keller, Bill
Date: Mon, Jun 21, 2010 at 5:01 PM
Subject: [NYT Newsroom] New Public Editor — post Spellcheck.

To the Staff:

With the end of Clark Hoyt's tour, we've had a lively discussion of whether to perpetuate the institution of public editor. Lord knows we have no shortage of kibbitzers — including millions of reliably attentive readers — to keep us in balance and on our toes. Some of you wonder, do we really need someone to publicly flyspeck us on our own dime, in our own space? On the other hand, the general suspicion of the press has not abated in the years since Dan Okrent took the first turn at this job, nor has our determination to hold ourselves to the highest standards in journalism. Offering the readers an advocate, someone who has the experience, the skills and the license to study our work and pass impartial judgments on it, is a demonstration of our commitment to those standards.
In short, there will be a fourth public editor, and after researching a long and diverse list of prospects, we have found someone we think can ably fill Clark's shoes.
Arthur S. Brisbane certainly has the experience. In a career spent mostly with Knight Ridder, he has been reporter and columnist, editor and publisher, corporate executive and consultant. Art got his start in New York (at the weekly Glen Cove Guardian) and spent six years on the metro and national desks of the Washington Post, before becoming a metro columnist, then editor, then publisher at The Kansas City Star. He comes highly recommended by, among others, Clark Hoyt, a fellow Knight Ridder alum.
Art will begin his three-year fixed term this summer — we're still working on a specific date. Like Clark he will take a few weeks to meet us and get the lay of the land before he goes public.
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.
I hope you'll all join me in giving him a warm welcome.

Bill