In reply to Peter Cralen.

Our journalists report the same issue. An added check box in the first step of the inline link editor widget would be perfect.

They go so far as to request that there be a default WP setting so new links are automatically selected to open the link in a new window. 99% of the inline links they create in a post are external and should be opened in a new window. The options gear requires 4 extra clicks that can be saved if it is the default option.