Two Sun journalists target of a ban

Baltimore Sun ^ | November 20, 2004 | Stephen Kiehl

[Cincinatus' Wife]

The Ehrlich administration has taken the unusual step of banning all state officials from speaking with two Sun journalists, who they say are "failing to objectively report" on state issues.

The governor's press office sent a memo Thursday to all state public information officers and to the governor's staff ordering them to not speak with State House Bureau Chief David Nitkin or columnist Michael Olesker.

"Do not return calls or comply with any requests," press secretary Shareese N. DeLeaver wrote in the memo. The ban is in effect "until further notice."

"There's no hiding the fact of The Sun's distaste for the results of this past election," said Greg Massoni, also a press secretary to Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., a Republican. "And they are perfectly entitled to that opinion. We have a grave problem with their editorial page taking over the news division, and apparently that's what's happened."

Sun Editor Timothy A. Franklin, the top newsroom executive, called such a suggestion "ridiculous on its face." He said, "The editorial board and the newsroom are distinctly separate departments of the company, on separate floors of the building. We don't know what they're going to write about, and they don't know what we're going to write about. And that's as it should be."

Franklin said he offered Thursday to meet with Ehrlich and his press officers to go over specific complaints they have with Sun reporting, but that offer was turned down. He said Nitkin would continue to cover the State House, even though the ban will make his job more difficult.

[cajungirl]

I hope you are right. I lived in Maryland for over 20 years. I just think Ehrlich shouldn't give them ammo. Do the thing, ban the Sun, just do it quietly.

[Grampa Dave]

"He said, "The editorial board and the newsroom are distinctly separate departments of the company, on separate floors of the building."

...uhhh, and they DON'T have elevators? Shucks...CBS has affilites scattered all across America....but still managed to come up with the same 'Party Line'."

That sounds like the same bs I got from the WSJ when I complained in 1996 about the vile Al Hunt and his rat hirelings. So I cancelled my subscription.

[Grampa Dave]

Thanks for highlighting these lies from these mediot maggots. Sounds like they graduated from the Woodward school lying/wet dream fantasy replacing journalism.

"DeLeaver said Olesker did not attend that hearing and could not have known the expression on Schurick's face. Olesker said he did not need to be there to "know the patent absurdity of the remark" by Schurick.

"What I was clearly intending to say for any discerning reader was that the ads were clearly meant to profit the governor politically, and for anyone to say otherwise, they would have to struggle to keep from smiling," Olesker said yesterday. "Anyone past the age of elementary school could have figured that much out."

The second complaint was with a front-page map the Sun published Wednesday indicating properties across the state that were "being considered" for sale. In fact, the land shown on the map was all 450,000 acres of state-owned preservation land. A correction ran on Page 2A yesterday.

While that map appeared with an article written by Nitkin, he did not produce the map himself. Nevertheless, the governor's office said, he had some responsibility because the map ran with his story.

[vaudine]

I second your motion. It is PAST TIME to "bell the cat" until they can learn a little discrimination in reportage, instead of taking any incident, twisting it to the lib view and running it.

vaudine

[jackbill]

Cajun, this story has legs (like the NBA fight story). Ehrlich is a Republican Governor with a Pro Life African American superstar, Michael Steele, as his Lieutenant. They have been dissed by the Democratic machine rag, the Sun, for years.

Folks may recall Michael Steele from the Republican National Convention. He's a brilliant, straight shooter. Prior to the election the Baltimore Sun said that the only thing that he brought to the ticket was the color of his skin.

Yesterday, the Gov.'s press secretary said that since being elected Gov. two years ago, the Sun has misspelled Ehrlich's name over 80 times. The Sun hates Republicans in general and they despise Ehrlich and Steele in particular.

I stopped buying the Sun over 20 years ago and I proudly stand behind my Governor in stiffing the Calvert Street Rag.

[Grampa Dave]

A quick search on Michael Olesker previous articles indicate that he may be a Fudge Packer for Kerry and rats posing as a journalist. Or at a minimum a pusher for Gay Marriage and the gay agenda. What is about the fudge packers and the pushers of the Gay Agenda how they have fantasies like Jason Blair and dare to print them as observations.

Below is the Yahoo search on Michael Olesker Gay, which shows a long history of pushing the Gay Marriage agenda:

http://search.yahoo.com/bin/search?p=Michael%20Olesker%20Gay

[Grampa Dave]

David Nitkin has a past of articles and editorials pushing the gay agenda and in particuliar the gay marriage mess:




http://search.yahoo.com/bin/search?p=David%20Nitkin%20%20Gay

[VeniVidiVici]

"What I was clearly intending to say for any discerning reader was that the ads were clearly meant to profit the governor politically, and for anyone to say otherwise, they would have to struggle to keep from smiling," Olesker said yesterday.

No, Olesker. What this shows is that you lied. You implied by your comments that you were at this meeting. You were not.

Jason Blair must be your mentor.

[OldPossum]

Re your post #20, I have seen Lt. Gov. Michael Steele on TV, and the man is impressive, intelligent, thoughtful and extremely well-spoken. I think that he is going to rise above being lieutenant governor of Maryland.

[CFC__VRWC]

That sounds like the same bs I got from the WSJ when I complained in 1996 about the vile Al Hunt and his rat hirelings.

Did you get this little bit of good news yesterday?

Al Hunt Leaves 'WSJ' for Bloomberg

[Grampa Dave]

Well, I may have to subscribe to the internet version of the WSJ.

Thanks for the good news.

If Al Hunt went to Bloomberg, that exposes Bloomberg to be the left POS group many of us have felt.

[CFC__VRWC]

The more I think about the last election, the more I'm convinced that it wasn't just all about the voters embracing President Bush's agenda and rejecting Kerry. I think a huge part of it was a protest vote against the "Legacy" Media. I see more and more ordinary folks who are not at all interested in politics but still absolutely despise the media.

And the media's antics since the election - the constant stream of insults and invective hurled at Christians and the red states, the blaring, hateful purple prose about Bush's cabinet and agency shuffling, the open racism being directed at Dr. Rice, the attempt to create another Abu Ghraib by propagandizing the Fallujah mosque shooting, the heavy-breathing excitement with which they keep pushing the moonbat rumors about how Bush "stole" Ohio and Florida - are not doing a thing to make people like them or even trust them again. Don't journalists even now rank near used car salesmen and lawyers in people's perceptions of favorability? (Sorry for the insult to used car salesmen).

[CFC__VRWC]

Well, I may have to subscribe to the internet version of the WSJ.

My company gets the WSJ, and I read the editorial page every day. I skip the rest of it because of the liberal bias that is no doubt a result of Mr. Judy Woof-woof's odious influence.

Maybe soon I'll be able to read more of the paper.

[CFC__VRWC]

This so-called newspaper is the biggest rag in the US.

My brother and his family live in Calvert County. Whenever I go up to visit them, the only paper I even bother with is the Washington Times. The others (the Sun and the Compost) aren't even worthy of parakeet cage liner.

[expatpat]

Yeah, and Olesker is an absolute Clymer, more so than Clymer himself.

[Grampa Dave]

"My company gets the WSJ, and I read the editorial page every day. I skip the rest of it because of the liberal bias that is no doubt a result of Mr. Judy Woof-woof's odious influence."

It is amazing how many left wing agenda articles appear in the WSJ. My wife and I go to the local library once a week for her to get books. So I scan the WSJ and read editorials. It is amazing how left wing some of the sections are. Of course, these people were hired by Hunt.

"Maybe soon I'll be able to read more of the paper.'

It will take a while for the bad stuff to be flushed out to join Hunt or the NY Slimes.

[weegee]

Liberal McCarthyism (Zogbyism) continues...

Media Schadenfreude and Media Shenanigans PING

"There's no hiding the fact of The Sun's distaste for the results of this past election," said Greg Massoni, also a press secretary to Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., a Republican. "And they are perfectly entitled to that opinion. We have a grave problem with their editorial page taking over the news division, and apparently that's what's happened."

Sun Editor Timothy A. Franklin, the top newsroom executive, called such a suggestion "ridiculous on its face." He said, "The editorial board and the newsroom are distinctly separate departments of the company, on separate floors of the building. We don't know what they're going to write about, and they don't know what we're going to write about. And that's as it should be."

And the elevators DON'T WORK? Sheesh.

I'll remind FReepers of this internally linked memo from the Houston Chronicle that proves such allegations may not be unfounded in "journalism"...

Accidental Houston Chronicle memo admits to tainting the news with political agenda (Posted on 11/25/2002)

There isn't a more critical issue on the horizon. I propose a series of editorials, editorial cartoons and Sounding Board columns leading up to the rail referendum, with this specific objective: Continuing our long standing efforts to make rail a permanent part of the transit mix here.

The timing, language and approach of the paper's editorials would, of course, be the decision of the Editorial Board. But I suggest that they could be built upon and informed by a news-feature package with an equally specific focus:

And we also had this year's ABC (Halperin) memo (October 8, 2004):

We have a responsibility to hold both sides accountable to the public interest, but that doesn't mean we reflexively and artificially hold both sides "equally" accountable when the facts don't warrant that.

I'm sure many of you have this week felt the stepped up Bush efforts to complain about our coverage. This is all part of their efforts to get away with as much as possible with the stepped up, renewed efforts to win the election by destroying Senator Kerry at least partly through distortions.

It's up to Kerry to defend himself, of course. But as one of the few news organizations with the skill and strength to help voters evaluate what the candidates are saying to serve the public interest. Now is the time for all of us to step up and do that right.