PHONY: Baltimore Sun; Censorship, Insincerity & Suppression

by A.F. James MacArthur, Managing Editor,
(REVISED -- be part of the process, email suggestions or corrections, or use the comments link below article)

A.F. James MacArthur with Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick Bealefeld III. After an interview near police headquarters.


UPDATED: After running this piece, The Baltimore Sun reacts by banning The Baltimore Spectator from their talk forum.
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So a certain editor of a certain news site introduced the idea of a Violence Reduction/Prevention Symposium. An open letter was sent to Mayor Dixon to which we got a response. In attempting to get further discussion going, the author posted the letter on the "local news" discussion forum of the Baltimore Sun's online website.

A healthy discussion with good constructive ideas began to flow. Several retired and active members of law enforcement chimed in with their thoughts on how to combat Baltimore's out of control crime. A few chronic complainers also checked in. Rather then put the complainers in their place and allow a good free flow of thoughts and ideas to continue, The Baltimore Sun staff pulled the plug on the discussion and deleted the entire thread and attached conversations.

Readers, I submit to you, with all of the excellent crime reporting we see at times in the pages of the Baltimore Sun, why then, if there were true concerns for the community, why would a constructive discussion be killed?

Unfortunately we live in a one newspaper town. The Baltimore Sun is the most dominant and largest media presence in Baltimore. As an admitted news junkie, I, and so many others, are forced to rely upon them to stay informed. In a busy city such as Baltimore, no one site, no one reporter, no one venue can possibly cover all that is going on. At least not with any depth and comprehensiveness.

My love hate relationship with our quirky little daily paper shall continue. My questions to the sincerity and motives of their reporting shall also continue. I love newspapers, but is it any wonder their days are numbered and they're dying off faster than fruit flies?

Space does not allow me to go into details. Search online and check out how many news papers have gone bankrupt, slashed staff, ceased from existing, and others barely hanging on. Find out how many have switched to all online formats, thereby no longer being a newsPAPER.

New Media will boldly march on into the future, but we can't do it alone. In a mission of "Truth To The Masses," we need all hands on deck. That includes you Baltimore Sun.
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Peter Hermann and Justin Fenton are two of the primary crime reporters of The Baltimore Sun. Their work has often been cited in pieces seen at The Baltimore Spectator.