Chuck Klosterman Confirms He Is The New York Times Ethicist, Says He Is No 'More Ethical Than The Average Person'

Chuck Klosterman confirmed to the Atlantic on Tuesday that he would be taking over the moral quandary advice column, which had previously been helmed by New York Times staffer Ariel Kaminer. The Atlantic contacted the Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs author after the New York Times' Magazine editor Hugo Lindgren tweeted a message that directed curious readers to a newly created Twitter account, @nytethicist. The bio reads: I write the Ethicist column for @NYTmag and also tweet as @CKlosterman.

This is a job I've wanted for 10 years, Klosterman told the Atlantic. I don't claim to be more ethical than anyone else, or even more ethical than the average person. But I love thinking about these types of problems, and I'll try to be interesting. We'll see what happens.

The @nyethicist Twitter account sent its inaugural tweet at about the same time the Atlantic story was published. This time, the Internet is correct, The Ethicist tweeted.

The announcement came as a welcome suprise to some Klosterman fans, but others are nonplussed.

What does he know about ethics? said one Times reader, who wished to remain anyonmous.

An editor here at the International Business Times said he fully supported the New York Times' decision to prioritize aesthetics over morals and is looking forward to an expected change in tone.

Interested parties have been busy tweeting their reactions to the news.

One is tempted to conclude that @NYTimes doesn't take the #Ethicist slot seriously, tweeted @ToddSeavey. The Chuck #Klosterman era begins.

Column may be good for 1st time in 13 yrs, tweeted @TVwithoutpity.

I can't wait for Chuck Klosterman to advise women as a collective to get over themselves, wrote Michelle Dean.

Fellow music critic Chris Weingarten tweeted his hopes for the column: I hope @CKlosterman sticks to his roots and reply to all questions w/ the lyrics to Cinderella's 'Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone).'

In April, Ariel Kaminer announced her departure from the column. It has been a privilege to be a part of that conversation, she wrote in her penultimate Ethicist post. But I came to this position on a one-year loan from The Times' Metro section, and so it is to there that I will soon return.

Klosterman will be at BookCourt in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, Wednesday night to discuss his recent novel, The Visible Man.