Washington Times names Post reporter as executive editor

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on January 16, 2008 at 3:19 PM

The Washington Times appointed John Solomon, a reporter from its rival publication, the Washington Post, to be its new executive editor.

The Washington Times is traditionally seen as a conservative paper and is financially supported by members of the Unification Church.

But Solomon said that executives had promised there would be “no political interference” and that he will carry on his journalistic duties unchanged.

"I'm still going to do the same style of journalism," said Solomon.

"It's going to be about being fair and balanced and accurate and precise. . . . There needs to be a bright line between the journalism on the news pages and the commentary that appears on the editorial and opinion pages."

The Times’ daily circulation averages 100,000 copies, compared to The Posts’ 691,000.

But in the digital age, "people want to interact with the news and learn more than you can fit into a 30-inch hole in a story," said Solomon, unconcerned by the lower print circulation of the paper.

Source: Washington Post