Editor’s note: This article won second place (Division C) in the General News category of the Maryland, Delaware, and D.C. Press Association’s 2024 Contest. Read our other award-winning pieces here.
When the Baltimore Sun staff won a 2020 Pulitzer Prize for its work on the book-publishing scheme of then-Mayor Catherine Pugh, the reporting process took long, grueling hours by multiple reporters who produced 10 stories which earned the win.
At the time, Baltimore Sun Media editor-in-chief and publisher Trif Alatzas said: “This Pulitzer Prize reflects the grit of a team of exceptional journalists who never quit, never stop asking difficult questions and never stop demanding answers and accountability from those in power.”
Four years later, the work of robust reporting and grit continues, but has become more challenging since the purchase of the 200-year-old paper earlier this year by Baltimore-based Sinclair Inc.’s executive chairman, David B. Smith, whose media associations have been accused of peddling political ideology, disinformation and promoting conservative-leaning narratives.
In a lunchtime rally today, about 50 members of the union and supporters gathered outside the Sun’s offices in Baltimore, calling for a fair contract and an end to what the members call “the substandard, non-Guild work,” that they said is regularly filling the newspaper’s pages. They also pushed back against a quota system they say the new owners have imposed.
“It is more important than ever that our journalists have robust job protections: Maryland’s largest newspaper is under threat,” the union wrote in a statement.
“Management wants to fill the Sun with content from our new owner’s media company, Sinclair Broadcasting, and its television station in Baltimore, Fox45,” the statement said. “These stories often lack nuance, context or opposing views. The pages of The Baltimore Sun should be filled mainly by its unionized journalists, who have decades of combined experience reporting in Maryland, not by a national media company with a worrying history of ideologically motivated programming.”
On Wednesday, the union delivered a signed letter to Sun management calling for an end to these stories. “Baltimore deserves better,” the statement added.
In June, the union demanded that Baltimore Sun management meet with staff members to address their concerns and explain the long-term strategy for the paper, and any agreements with Fox45 or Sinclair.
They also asked the company to stop sharing articles, photos, videos and social media content from Fox45 and Sinclair until a meeting was held. Management met with the group, but let them know the practice would continue, and since that time, unit chair, Christine Condon said the practice has only increased. Most recently the paper has incorporated copy from The Center Square, a conservative online news website.
In addition to turning to conservative sources, the union members previously expressed concern over terms that appear in the paper. One of the first articles from Sinclair in June made references to “illegal immigrants,” a term that is not used in The Sun or supported by the Associated Press in its stylebook, which serves as a reference guide in newsrooms. The wording was later corrected, but the group complained that the story’s framing remained concerning because, as originally published, it described an immigration policy using only police and immigration enforcement sources, excluding meaningful context.
Additionally, in the opinion pages, co-owner Armstrong Williams was accused by members of using offensive language to describe transgender people, likening the “transgender movement” to a “cancer,” and used the terms “biological male” and “biological female” to exclude transgender people, which AP style instructs journalists to avoid.
Other changes made by Sun management was to impose a quota system that dictates how many stories some reporters have to write per week as a way to measure productivity which can make it more difficult to juggle stories that require extensive reporting and time.
“Though the Guild is bargaining in good faith to reach a fair contract and improve our members’ quality of life, management has not offered us the same respect,” the organization’s statement read.
“The company has responded with egregious proposals, including slashing some of the fundamental job protections that make us a union — like seniority protections during a layoff and the requirement of just and sufficient cause for dismissal. These are thinly veiled efforts to radically reshape The Baltimore Sun and take power from its dedicated Guild members.”
Sounds like the death of the Baltimore Sun Paper. I grew up on the Sun Paper. My parents got it every morning, afternoon and on Sundays. I delivered the Sun Paper from 4th or 5th grade until I started the 10th grade. In all I had three different routes (evening and Sunday). My route Manager, Mr. Shabazz (WOW, I still remember his name) was disappointed as were a lot of my customers when I quit. To the matter at hand. Sounds like the new owner is going to do what he wants regardless. Maybe the current employees should start their own newspaper and watch the Baltimore Sun Paper die a slow painful death.
Sadly I am in agreement with Mr. Butler. It does very much sound as if The Baltimore Sun is headed down that path of so many other esteemed newspapers. I hope this doesn’t happen, but it appears the new management doesn’t much care about delivering insightful and truthful articles written by thoughtful, educated hard working writers and new people. It’s a sad state of affairs.
Growing up in the Mid-West, I was on the staff of our high school newspaper in the 50’s. One of the things we learned was what a great newspaper looked like and how we should try to emulate it. The Baltimore Sun was the standard as far as our advisor was concerned, a real Pulitzer Prize exemplar. She brought in copies of her own subscription to use as a model. When we moved to the Baltimore area, one of the things I was most excited about was actually being able to read the Sun every day and not have to be influenced by biased articles trying to twist the truth instead of reporting the honest facts of the news. Since the change of ownership, it has been difficult to stomach a lot of what I read frequently. I cancelled my subscription. I refuse to give financial support to a biased publication. I’m sure my school newspaper advisor is rolling in her grave.