Margaret SullivanMargaret Sullivan

Margaret Sullivan, New York Times public editor and author of its Public Editor’s Journal blog, which details the inner workings of the newspaper of record, has chosen not to renew her contract, which expires in August.

The news was first reported by Politico’s Joe Pompeo.

According to Politico’s Playbook, Sullivan was given the option to renew her four-year contract but declined. NYT executives have now “already begun considering who should replace her,” and have charged newsroom heads “to think of potential candidates for the role.”

Sullivan’s tenure as public editor has been the longest in the paper's history, as most hold the ombudsman position for only about two years. Sullivan, who was previously editor and vice-president of the Buffalo News, succeeded Arthur Brisbane as public editor in September 2012. She became the first woman to hold the position.

Sullivan, who has often been critical of the Times’ handling of stories, on Friday excoriated her publication for its use of anonymous sources in a recent report regarding social-media posts made by alleged San Bernardino killer Tashfeen Malik, which was later contradicted by statements made by the F.B.I.

Referring to the incident as “a red alert,” and “a failure of sufficient skepticism at every level of the reporting and editing process,” Sullivan called for “systematic changes” at the paper, which she believes relies too heavily on unnamed government sources.