Skip to main content

Bad Practice

I always thought that the reason we don't get to keep our reporters very long at the Howard County Times was because they are are overworked, underpaid, and the stories are rather provincial and unexciting. This week I saw something which is probably a bigger motivator to jump ship than any of that.

This week the Baltimore Sun editorial board published a piece which reads more like a paid advertisement for Superintendent Renee Foose than an editorial. In "What's Wrong With Howard?" not only do they put forward numerous factual inaccuracies throughout, they also essentially throw the reporters and editorial board of the Howard County Times under the bus.

 This response from Howard County parent Chris Krupiarz spells it out nicely:
I am contacting you in your role as the Editor of the Sun's Editorial page regarding today's opinion piece on Howard County.  You should be aware of a few facts regarding Dr. Renee Foose's performance and the Howard County Board of Education that were glossed over in the piece.  

1)  Your own Sun Paper, the Howard County Times, twice endorsed three non-incumbents for BoE positions.

2)  Your own Sun Paper, the Howard County Times, requested the Board not rush to renew Dr. Foose's contract in a editorial.

3)  Your own Sun Paper, the Howard County Times, has continually reported on issues of Dr. Foose's tenure that extend well beyond the Glenwood mold issue which, in itself, was a serious health danger to children and staff.

I recommend that instead of being hoodwinked during a single Editorial Board meeting with the Superintendent and her personally selected facts and figures, next time your Editorial Board do actual research -- such as simply contacting your own newspaper staff in Howard County -- before looking like uninformed fools.

Why would any of our young, dedicated reporters want to to commit to stay in an environment where their work could be so cavalierly dismissed? Why put in the grueling hours of community meetings, following leads, corroborating facts, telling a complete story, meeting deadlines, and maintaining a social media presence all at the same time? Why would you do it if you know that your parent company had zero respect for your work?

Here's the deal: if you need to do the end run around local press and leave town in order to get someone to print your story without questioning it, either A) there's something wrong with your story, or B) maybe you're in the wrong town.

The editorial board allowed Dr. Foose to bypass the inconveniences of the journalistic process altogether. 

Why on earth did they do that?











Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Getting Fresh

One of my favorite days in the Spring comes when this year’s list of Farmer’s Markets is released. That happened this week. New this year are markets in Old Ellicott City and the “Merriweather Market” which, according to the address, will be located here . I mistakenly thought at first glance that it was in the new-construction part of the Merriweather District. I find the name confusing considering its actual location. I’m going to guess that this market is an initiative of the Howard Hughes Corporation because the name seems chosen more for branding purposes than anything else.  Alas, the market in Maple Lawn is gone. The thread on the markets on the County Executive’s FB page will provide you with quite the education in who actually runs the Farmers Markets vs what people often think is going on. Short answer: they are not  chosen nor run by the county. Each market is an independent entity, sometimes started by community volunteers, other times supported by local businesses...
Post a Comment
Read more

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday.  Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was  "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018.  2018 .  But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest.  In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...
1 comment
Read more

What Kids Are Thinking

  It’s a Monday in February, and if you guessed that a lot of Howard County students have the new cell phone policy on their minds, you’d be right. It will mean big changes and it will be stressful, no matter how much good we hope it will do in the long run. But on this particular Monday cell phones might not be top of mind, as amazing as that seems. Some kids will go to school wondering if they or family members will be seized by ICE. Some will fear that their parents’ employment will be purged by the ongoing rampage of Elon Musk and his cronies through Federal Government. Some fear heightened and renewed racism as programs that supprted Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are vilified and destroyed.  Some worry that it soon won’t be safe for them to use the bathroom in school anymore. It goes without saying that some kids fear going to school every day because of the prevalence of school shootings.  And look! Here’s something new to fear. That old hate group, Libs of TikTo...
Post a Comment
Read more