Journalist Deborah Howell Dies at 68

Deborah Howell, former ombudsman at The Washington Post and top editor at the St. Paul Pioneer Press, died in New Zealand today at age 68 after being struck by a vehicle while on vacation with her husband. The Texas-born Howell worked at the Minneapolis Star before becoming an editor at the Press and helping the paper win two Pulitzers. In 2005 she became the Post's ombudsman, writing a column advocating for readers until 2008. "My values simply are these," Howell wrote in her first column, "Journalism should be as accurate as human beings can make it and it should be enlightening, fair, honest and as transparent as possible."