Update: Former WaPo ombudsman dies in New Zealand accident

Deborah Howell, who was the Washington Post ombudsman from 2005-2008, died in a road accident while vacationing in New Zealand. (Former Pioneer Press editor Howell dies)

Howell came to Washington in 1999 after a distinguished career in Minnesota.

After spending 14 years at the Minneapolis Star as a reporter and editor, Howell joined the Pioneer Press in 1979 as assistant managing editor. She became managing editor in 1982, executive editor in 1984 and editor in 1987.

Howell left the Pioneer Press in 1990 to become chief of the Washington bureau for the Newhouse newspaper group and editor of Newhouse News Service. Her staff at Newhouse News Service also won a Pulitzer while she was there.

In 2005, Howell was named ombudsman of the Washington Post, a position she held until 2008.

In her first ombudsman column for the Post, in October 2005, Howell described her philosophy of the job this way.

"My values simply are these: Journalism should be as accurate as human beings can make it and it should be enlightening, fair, honest and as transparent as possible. Mistakes should be acknowledged and quickly corrected. When you finish reading The Post, you should feel more informed than when you began."

Howell participated in local SPJ programs while she was the ombudsman, including a well-attended session at the National Public Radio offices to talk about the media should serve the community.

Update: Howell’s son said his mother most likely died while taking a picture on the roadside.

He said that she’d been sending photos to family during her trip and that she probably made the driver stop so she could get out and snap a shot. "She died doing the journalistic duty. … That would be typical of her."

TwinCities.com: Tough, loyal, a little profane — and a journalist to the core

And more testimonials flow in:

Washington Post: Former Post ombudsman helped break glass ceiling

Tim McGuire, Arizona State University Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication: My tortured journey to becoming Deborah Howell’s friend

New York Times: The Editor Everyone Should Have Had