The LA Times suspended Michael Hiltzik's Golden State blog earlier this month after learning that he posted comments to the paper's site and other sites under names that weren't his. The postings violated the Times' ethics policies.
Check it out.
Hiltzik received a Pulitzer Prize in 1999 for his investigative piece on corruption in the music business.
Now, he's been accused of being dishonest on his blog, posing as readers who frequently come to his defense when other readers question his opinion. He was uncovered by a rival blogger who started to piece things together and eventually tracked the comments to Hiltzik's IP address.
This apparently isn't the first time that Hiltzik has been in trouble at the times. More than 10 years ago, he was busted for hacking into his co-workers' email while working at the paper's Moscow bureau.
But what are the standards for blogs? By their nature blogs are more intimate and sardonic and Hiltzik is a columnist. He doesn't pretend to be an unbiased reporter.
As newspapers rush to join the blogosphere, there needs to be more thought put in place about what is acceptable and what's not acceptable.
But one thing is for sure, when you're hiding your identity, that doesn't just skim the edge, it's a bad side of town.
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