New York Times Public Editor Byron Calame hung up his pen last weekend, making way for a new Public Editor, Clark Hoyt.

Calame provided a model, imo, for how to do the job. Unlike his awful predecessor, Daniel Okrent, Calame was a newspaperman, and knew his way around a newsroom and the processes that permit the nightly miracle of the production of a newspaper, particularly a newspaper like the New York Times.

Unlike Okrent, Calame welcomed the attention of Times readers:

It has been an honor to be entrusted to pursue concerns about The Times on behalf of you, the readers, and to monitor the integrity of the journalism practiced by the talented staff of this outstanding newspaper. It has been especially gratifying to hear from those of you whose questions and criticisms showed that you take seriously your obligation to be informed so you can be a more effective citizen in our democracy. I only wish there had been more such critics, those I came to think of as ”citizen readers.” And while you often deserved more breadth and vision than I had to offer, please know that I have given the job my all — for you and for the craft that I love.

Calame embodied what I believe the attitude and function of a Public Editor should be. He leaves big shoes to fill.