NY Times editor an 'in-house gossip'?

Margaret Sullivan, public editor for the New York Times, is the "in-house gossip" at the Times, according to the Wall Street Journal's James Taranto.

Sullivan, who acts as the liason between readers and the Times' staff, wrote a blog post Monday about the publication's celebrity statistician Nate Silver, who recently accepted an offer to join ESPN. She said she's "sorry" to see Silver leave the Times but notes throughout the post that other staffers found him "disruptive" and were likely "gratified" to see him go.

"We must admit, we find this all moderately interesting," Taranto, a member of the Journal's editorial board, wrote Wednesday of the post. "Those of us in the journalism business have a natural attraction to gossip about our colleagues and competitors. But it also makes us wonder if the original purpose of ombudsmen was to act as this sort of in-house gossip."

Ouch. We've requested comment from Sullivan and will update if she has anything to say.

@eScarry