CultureGrrl to NY Times Public Editor: Are You Out There?

I probably read the NY Times too closely for my own good.

But when they said that the new public editor, Clark Hoyt, was going to assume his post effective May 14, I expected to see his first column in the May 19 Sunday "Week in Review" section, or at least by the week after that. I've come to enjoy these incisive internal critiques, which began in 2003.

Earlier this month, I wrote that I was glad the Times had opted to maintain the position of official internal irritant, after the scheduled departure of Byron Calame, who had frequently locked horns not only with reporters but also with executive editor Bill Keller

Now I'm wondering if the position still exists but the regular column doesn't.

The Corrections page does assure us, however, that a public editor is somewhere on the case:

Readers dissatisfied with a response or concerned about the paper's journalistic integrity may reach the public editor at public@nytimes.com or (212) 556-7652.

I was concerned about the integrity of the public editor position, so I called the number. I got a recording telling me to limit my comments to 30 seconds. Dissatisfaction must be brief.

Has Clark been confined to fielding irate phone calls and e-mails, or will he get let loose to write thoughtful and pointed critiques? We'll keep watching the PE's former space in the Sunday opinion pages.

Speaking of "Promises of the Times," the spluttering ArtsBeat blog, which had originally billed itself as "all culture, all the time," has fallen silent again, as of May 18. We can only hope that one of its art writers gets to blog the European art fairs and festivals this summer. But it looks as though only the music festivals may qualify for blog treatment:

Coming Soon: opera in Spoleto, pop at Bonnaroo and more.

It's the "more" that I'm most looking forward to.

UPDATE: I e-mailed this post to the public editor, and got the following automated response:

Thank you for contacting the Public Editor. An associate or I read every message....If a further reply is warranted, you will be hearing from us shortly. Some messages to the Public Editor may be published in his column or online. Please let us know if you do not want your message published.

So, perhaps "his column" will indeed, at some point, exist. Oddly, the "I" of the above message is unidentified in the e-mail.

Clark, come out of your closet!