Today’s Baltimore Sun: Light for Whom?

 

Okay, I live in Columbia, but this framing makes me want to punch the Baltimore Sun in the nose.

To raise a family in Maryland, skip Baltimore and head to Columbia, WalletHub says

I vented my ire on Bluesky last night:

An exercise in self-hatred? It’s just gross.

A newspaper is supposed to operate with a kind of journalistic detachment. Still, I think that embedded in the basic commitment to report the news should be a deep love of the community you serve. I don’t mean an infatuation that clouds your judgement. I mean the kind of love that sees and acknowledges the truth, cheers successes, acknowledges failures, and continues, day after day, to write about the significant stories that matter to residents.

What made me angry about these words?

To raise a family in Maryland, skip Baltimore and head to Columbia, WalletHub says

To me they symbolize the sad truth that the Baltimore Sun is owned and operated by people who have a deep-seated contempt for Baltimore. It was completely unnecessary to use this framing in order to report this story. Honestly, I’m not completely sure it was necessary to report on the WalletHub results at all. 

It’s not significant information that helps inform the people of Baltimore about who they are and where they live. It is, apparently, a delicious opportunity for Sun ownership/management to take a swipe at Baltimore. I was wrong to suggest that it’s an exercise in self-hatred, because the mindset that produces this kind of framing doesn’t have legitimate Baltimore roots. It reads more like a sneer from the suburbs.

Here’s another one that irked me.

Downtown Baltimore needs to be a little fun | EDITORIAL

Can you pick up in the subtext?

Baltimore needs to be a little fun: for white people.

Look at the photograph. To be clear: there’s nothing wrong with the people in this photograph or the activity depicted. But using it was a choice.

Baltimore is a majority Black city that is home to numerous events and attractions which are bringing in guests from other places. And those events and attractions bring in Black visitors who participate, enjoy themselves, and spend money. But it is oh, so clear that those are not the “guests” that this piece is talking about. 

This kind of attitude does not originate with the Sun so I will not lay the blame entirely at their doorstep. Far too many plans have been made for Baltimore that were based on the premise that what Baltimore needs is to attract and entertain white people rather than to make it a liveable place for the people who live there already. 

Considering these particular examples makes me wonder which is worse: losing a hometown newspaper altogether or having one that exudes a slow, slow drip of contempt. 

If you are looking for a Baltimore media outlet that embodies the commitment to report the news centered in a deep love of the community, may I once again recommend Baltimore Beat. Again, I don’t mean an infatuation that clouds judgement. I mean the kind of love that sees and acknowledges the truth, cheers successes, acknowledges failures, and continues, day after day, to write about the significant stories that matter to residents.

I’m not quite sure what the Baltimore Sun is doing. It’s certainly not Light for All. More like throwing shade.

*****

Postscript: there are two major things wrong with my post today that I intend to rectify.

1. I have not read either piece because I no longer have a subscription and will need to take the extra step to access them through the HCLS website. Honestly they both really annoyed me enough that I didn’t initially want to bother.

2. I haven’t credited the writers or photographers, which is a rarity for me. I will do so later today.