For more than thirty-seven years, thirty-three of them on the staff, I have been a daily subscriber to The Baltimore Sun. The announcement that the newspaper has been purchased by a conservative crank with no experience, and apparently no interest, in newspaper publishing has led a number of people in my orbit to announce that they have canceled or plan to cancel their subscriptions.
But I have friends and colleagues who, stunned and dismayed, are still there, working as professionals, trying to provide readers with accurate, reliable news about the city and the region. I am loath to abandon them.
The Sun has undergone a painful decline over the past two decades because of corporate management that has been alternately incompetent and avaricious. (Occasionally both.) Everyone on the staff during that time understands how hard we worked to produce a reputable publication with fewer people and resources. The remaining staff members today face the greatest challenge yet.
So I am still here, reading the print edition each morning and watching online during the day, waiting to see what can be done to salvage the work against great odds. Very likely there will come a point at which it is unbearable to look at a paper to which I have given half my life. Should that point arrive, I will make the call to circulation, and mourn the loss.
Hanging it until the expected deterioration strangle me
ReplyDeleteAdmirable loyalty to your former colleagues, John. My position is more reactionary. I hope everyone stops buying the paper immediately. I’d love to see WAPO start putting out a Baltimore edition, covering Baltimore news, sports and events.
ReplyDeletemy friend Johnny Mc -- I don't think your call will go through to circulation. (where I got my start in aug 1977) whoever mans those phones lives far, far away from Calvert Street / just cancel via your credit card.
DeleteDon't hold your breath, Anon. I subscribe to the print WaPo in suburban DC, and have an abiding interest in the local news coverage within its Metro section. Unfortunately, along with the rest of the paper Metro has recently been gutted, losing some key columnists and printing from outside sources. Its value now lies mainly in one-paragraph, grammatically corrected extracts from local police blotters, and obituaries (also written by someone else). The paper's appearance in my driveway by 5:35 each day has become its most reliable feature, along with coverage of the ongoing Washington Commanders management drama. And the Friday crossword is good. But probably I am not far from canceling my (expensive) subscription.
DeleteSometimes you just have to Love reading the printed product and be intelligent enough to understand what you are reading.
ReplyDeleteTwo words: Baltimore Banner
ReplyDeleteI would like to see 'conservative, liberal, left-wing, right-wing' and all such adjectives left out of the descriptions—and actions—of newspaper owners, writers, and editors. A good newspaper should be neutral and accurate rather than serving as someone's hobbyhorse to push an agenda of any sort. Reading even "respectable" newspapers today is like reading the shoddy articles online.
ReplyDeleteI have no real connection to Baltimore, but I started a subscription (at a promotional rate) to read your (erstwhile) blog and to support Journalism. I stayed with it for the latter reason and because they kept offering the discount, but I knew the end was inevitable. When I read the news about the sale, the end became immediate.
ReplyDeleteDon't negotiate with hostage-takers.
ReplyDeleteIf Smith has free reign to do whatever he likes except fire people, you are still directly supporting that behavior. I admire your commitment to your folks. Put in subscriptions to two different local papers and help them hire up.