At Least They Have a Nice Aquarium

Apparently, the readers of this blog have a pretty good idea of the material I enjoy reading. Both the Lord of Truth and RB sent along this wonderful article, which probably will not be endorsed by the Baltimore City Chamber of Commerce...

Baltimore has made other national news recently--none of it good--in journalism's disproportionately favored arena of media and politics. Tiny Town has just one newspaper, the Baltimore Sun--a once-prestigious daily now owned by the Tribune Co.--and it's currently embroiled in a self-aggrandizing First Amendment battle with Maryland's Gov. Robert Ehrlich. (Mr. Ehrlich, who defeated Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, whom the Sun and the Washington Post endorsed, in 2002, was the first Republican elected to the post since Spiro Agnew in 1966.)

At issue is Gov. Ehrlich's edict last November that no state employees talk to Sun reporter David Nitkin and columnist Michael Olesker, citing what he perceived as biased articles about his administration. The Sun's editor, Timothy Franklin, immediately seized the opportunity to wage war with Gov. Ehrlich, explaining in a Dec. 3 letter to readers that the newspaper was filing suit against the governor because of the "dangerous precedent for all citizens." Never mind that the two journalists continued to write about the governor, as did the Sun's battery of political reporters and editorialists. It was a matter of principle, Mr. Franklin said, an assault upon freedom of the press. More likely, in my view, it was a desperate plea for attention.

Not surprisingly, the Sun's ginned-up plight drew sympathy from liberal journalists and Democrats who reflexively blow out of proportion any imagined infringement of liberties by conservative politicians like Gov. Ehrlich and President Bush. Last month, for example, the New York Times entered the provincial fray, editorializing that the Sun was "obliged" to muck up the judicial calendar and protect the First Amendment.

Given the hysteria whipped up by the Sun's editorial staff, one might think that Gov. Ehrlich had actually closed the paper down, rather than exercise his prerogative to withhold comment from two Sun employees.

On Monday, U.S. District Judge William D. Quarles dismissed the lawsuit, saying, "The Sun seeks a privileged status beyond that of the private citizen." The newspaper escalated the skirmish yesterday with an editorial claiming that Judge Quarles gave Gov. Ehrlich's "foolish and undemocratic notion a legitimacy it never deserved." The editorial's opening sentence--"These are sad days for those us who cherish the First Amendment."--summed up just how melodramatic this "controversy" has become.

As a longtime journalist, I also "cherish" the First Amendment; but it's distressing when a newspaper cheapens its value by echoing the ongoing cries of left-wing Americans who interpret every decision by a conservative administration--at the federal and state level--as "shredding the Constitution."

The Sun hasn't recovered from Gov. Ehrlich's election--Maryland is a reliably "blue" state with two Democratic U.S. senators--and his agenda of tax-cutting and reductions in aid to government-sponsored social programs has left its editors in a state of elitist meltdown. In fact, Mr. Ehrlich has proved to be a popular governor. Despite butting heads with the Democratic-controlled legislature, his approval ratings are consistently above 50%. And unless there's a sudden recession in Maryland, he's likely to win re-election next year--which bothers the Baltimore Sun greatly.

Personally, I'm of the opinion that the Sun's suit is entirely without merit. Someone should consider Rule 11 sanctions for wasting the court's time with a claim this silly.

The arrogance of the MSM continues unabated, but this is particularly pathetic. The Sun does not have guaranteed access to Governor Ehrlich's aides any more than anyone else in Maryland, or for that matter, anyone else anywhere. Someone should smack Franklin in the head with a copy of the First Amendment so he can actually read what it says. You could also smack him with a copy of his own paper -- hey, it's better than reading it.