The Times learned of Michael Hiltzik's multiple identities from another blogger,
Patrick Frey, who was slammed by the columnist under a pseudonym. Frey, author
of the Patterico's Pontifications blog (www.patterico.com), traced the writer
back to Hiltzik's computer.
In 1999, Hiltzik won a Pulitzer Prize at the Times with Chuck Philips for
a series exposing corruption in the music industry.
Hiltzik's spat with Frey marked the latest salvo in the battle between bloggers
and the mainstream media who they accuse of arrogance and bias under the guise
of objectivity.
In a statement, the Times said: "Hiltzik admitted Thursday that he posted
items on the paper's Web site, and on other Web sites, under names other than
his own,"
"That is a violation of The Times ethics guidelines, which requires editors
and reporters to identify themselves in dealing with the public," the paper
said. "The Times is investigating the postings."
There was no immediate word if the newspaper planned to take any additional
action against the columnist.
Hiltzik, a business page columnist who has sparred with Frey and other conservative
bloggers, told Reuters he could not comment. A Times spokesman was not immediately
available.
In an earlier posting on his Golden State blog, Hiltzik dismissed the complaints
by Frey, a Los Angeles prosecutor, as "amusing" and overblown.
"(Frey) seems to think that pseudonymous posting is deceptive, though he can't
articulate why that should be, given the abundance of pseudonyms and anonymity
on his own blog starting with the name on the banner," Hiltzik wrote.
Frey exposed Hiltzik's multiple identities by finding matches between the
Internet addresses used by the columnist and at least two "readers" called "Mikekoshi" and "Nofanofcablecos."
He discovered Hiltzik was also identified as "Mikekoshi" on an Internet mailing
list for fans of sumo wrestling.
Dan Rather stepped down as CBS news anchor last year after a blogger-initiated
furor over a story by the network suggesting President
George W. Bush received favorable treatment in the National Guard during
the Vietnam War.
The report was based on documents the network later acknowledged could not
be authenticated. The papers had first been challenged by conservative bloggers
who long claimed that Rather had a liberal bias.
