War and Peace. Army and Navy. Bill Gertz and the Washington Times. Some pairings seem a part of nature – but word comes that Gertz has left the full-time employ of the Washington Times, where he has covered defense and intelligence matters for nearly 30 years. Gertz is a jack-hammer of a reporter – especially on matters involving China’s ambitions. “After 27 years,” he says, “I needed a change.”
He’s joining the Washington Free Beacon online-only news operation – Gertz describes it as “a guerrilla news organization dedicated to in-depth and investigative reporting on all things Washington” — slated to launch in about a week. He says he’ll continue writing his weekly “Inside the Ring” for the Times. The Beacon is the creation of the Center for American Freedom, a conservative outfit seeking to mirror the success of the liberal Center for American Progress, but from the other side of the political spectrum.
