‘The Hill’ Publishes Its Review of John Solomon’s Columns, Pledges to Avoid ‘Blending of Reporting and Opinion’

The Hill newspaper has finally published its’ review of columns by John Solomon, the journalist who has been accused of spreading disinformation about former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter. In a largely unapologetic article, the newspaper committed to doing better.

“While Solomon’s columns on Ukraine were labeled as opinion, they largely read like news stories,” The Hill said.

“Adding to the potential confusion between opinion and news, Solomon was identified as ‘an award-winning journalist’ in his column tagline. When appearing on television to discuss his Ukraine columns, Solomon was not typically labeled an opinion writer by the broadcast programs. The Hill did not contact television producers to label Solomon as an opinion columnist. It should have.”

This, among other factors, ‘potentially blurred the distinction between news and opinion in the minds of some readers.’

However, the review seemed to take aim at Hunter Biden, saying: “Hunter Biden, who had little to no energy expertise at the time he was hired by Burisma, has said it was “poor judgment” to accept the position on Burisma’s board, acknowledging that he likely received the job offer because of his last name.”

Though true, this seems a somewhat egregious addition to what is supposed to be a reflection on the newspaper’s policies. That said, The Hill committed throughout the review to improve its’ standards.

“Solomon’s Ukraine columns represented a departure from The Hill‘s standard opinion content because they attempted to blend opinion and investigative, ‘original reporting”‘material. The Hill will avoid such blending of reporting and opinion columns going forward.”