Matt Drudge is reporting that former Associated Press reporter and current Washington Post “star” John Solomon has been named the new executive editor of the conservative Washington Times. Solomon, who joined the Post little over a year ago, will “succeed Wesley Pruden, who is retiring after 25 years in The Washington Times newsroom.”
Solomon’s reporting has been heavily criticized in the blogosphere for over hyping minor stories, omitting key facts and twisting out of context the meaning of statements. Here are a few examples of the reporting ethos Solomon will be bringing to the Times:
– Solomon tried to link Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) to the Jack Abramoff scandal by reporting on Reid contacts with Abramoff-tied lobbyist, but overlooked the fact that Reid voted against lobbyists’ favored bill.
– Solomon took comments by Ambassador Joe Wilson out of context in effort to claim he “acknowledged his wife was no longer in an undercover job at the time Novak’s column first identified her.”
– In a non-story, Solomon reported that Reid accepted boxing tickets from a state government agency, despite that he then did the opposite of what the agency wanted.
– In 2006, Solomon claimed that Reid “collected a $1.1 million windfall on a Las Vegas land sale,” even though Reid actually only made a $700,000 profit on the sale.
– Solomon wrote a story calling Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) a hypocrite on campaign finance reform, but buried quotes by critics of big money in government exonerating him for “all the things the article criticizes him for doing.”
– In July, Solomon “devoted nearly 1,300 words to the ‘controversy’ surrounding” John Edwards’ haircut.
– In a front page story, Solomon baselessly suggested that John Edwards had engaged in a shady land deal, but never provided proper context for the sale. His reporting was criticized by the Post’s ombudsman.
At the preeminent conservative newspaper in the nation, John Solomon’s shoddy reporting record has finally found the appropriate home.
UPDATE: The Washington Times confirms that Solomon will be replacing Pruden.
UPDATE II: With Solomon coming in, Fran Coombs — “whom many thought would replace Wes Pruden as executive editor” — announced today “that he is leaving the paper.”