When hacks roamed the earth

The Times has announced that John Tierney, who's been writing for the metro section, will be replacing the Safliar.

Geez, surely Bill Keller and Gail Collins could have filled the ideologoical void left by the retirement of Nixon's former speech writer with someone in possession of, you know, journalistic "norms."

-- Tierney "has a tendency to support his point of view using sources with a clear ideological or special interest agenda, without properly identifying them."

-- Tierney has repeatedly selectively cited sources, cherry-picking studies that support his view, even if they contradict the wider body of evidence.

-- In his Times pieces, Tierney has ignored major sides of a debate in his desire to adopt a contrarian position, often "flouting basic journalistic norms whose observance might weaken his case."

Sounds a lot like that other useful idiot to me, so I guess he'll fit right in on the pages of the Gray Lady.

CJR has more, much more.