Hiltzik deemed to have redeemed himself

Jamie Gold, the readers’ representative at the Los Angeles Times, notes that a number of readers remember that the paper took away Michael Hiltzik‘s business column in 2006 and want to know why he’s now getting it back.

Gold writes, “Russ Stanton, now editor of The Times, was Business editor when Hiltzik’s popular column for the Business section was discontinued. As the editor’s note published at the time said, Hiltzik had been found to be violating The Times’ ethics guidelines by using pseudonyms to post comments on the Web that dealt with his column and other issues involving the newspaper.

“Readers were also told in the 2006 editor’s note, ‘Mike did not commit any ethical violations in his newspaper column, and an internal inquiry found no inaccurate reporting in his postings in his blog or on the Web.’

“Since his column was pulled in 2006, writes Stanton, Hiltzik ‘has been an invaluable asset to the paper. He has earned the right to return as a columnist.’ In those two years, more than 35 news articles written by Hiltzik have been published on the front page. Stanton says editors believe that what readers can learn from Hiltzik the columnist will be as trustworthy as what he’s delivered in his news reports.”

Read more here.