Hiltzik gets business section column back at LA Times

Michael Hiltzik will return to writing a column for the business section of the Los Angeles Times, according to a memo from business editor Sallie Hofmeister. The column will run on Mondays and Thursdays, beginning Jan. 5.

Hiltzik, a Pulitzer Prize winner, lost his column and his blog back in April 2006 after the disclosure that he posted comments, some using a pseudonym, on other blogs.

That’s not mentioned in Hofmeister’s memo. She writes, “A 27-year Times veteran, Michael has distinguished himself since returning to Business a year ago (after a brief stint in Sports) with smart, analytical stories, many of which have been followed by our competitors.

“Michael has an uncanny knack for synthesizing complicated information and making it easy for readers to understand. This year, he has produced 25 A1 stories on a broad range of subjects, from hedge funds’ track records in Hollywood to the nation’s broken health care insurance system. Most recently, he helped anchor our coverage of the Bush Administration’s financial bailout plan.Â

“A former foreign correspondent, who has served the paper in both Moscow and Nairobi, Michael won a Pulitzer Prize in 1999 with colleague Chuck Philips for reporting on corruption in the entertainment industry. Five years later, he won a Gerald Loeb Award for his Golden State column, which the judges called ‘smart, angry, sometimes laugh out loud funny, tackling complex subjects in a lively accessible style with a strong voice and a real sense of being on the reader’s side.'”

Read more here.Â