Pogue had a LOT of ethical issues while at the Times—issues where he'd be more likely be hit simply because of his employer. This move has the effect of simultaneously giving him a bigger platform and getting him out of the eye of the watchdogs. I can see why he went to Yahoo.
But this paper steadfastly focuses on responsible journalism, irconclad ethics and superb writing. I’ll always be a loyal ally...
This is such an unnatural sentence, it doesn't surprise me at all to see it as complete spin. Its beyond rare to pledge loyalty to a company, when you are leaving it to join a competitor. And Newspapers are so full of conflicts of interest (especially a place as politicised as NYT), that any reference to 'ethics' that is not self-serving is only by coincidence.
Especially bizarre because the Times tried to explain away their tolerance of Pogue's conflicts of interest (not applying their usual ethics rules to his case) by saying that he wasn't really an employee, but some kind of freelancer. However, this article certainly gives the impression of a Times employee leaving their employ to be employed by a new employer.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbercovici/2011/06/27/will-th...
http://valleywag.gawker.com/nyt-tech-columnist-david-pogue-m...
http://www.nytpick.com/2010/01/david-pogue-breaks-nyts-ethic...