The new owners of The Sun summoned the paper’s staff for an all-hands meeting on Monday that produced few fireworks and some mixed messages.
Owners David D. Smith, the executive chairman of Hunt Valley-based broadcasting giant Sinclair Inc., and conservative commentator Armstrong Williams used the noon meeting to reinforce the types of coverage they believe is popular.
But there were no announcements about staff or other changes, according to those present.
Stories about schools, crime and corruption, Smith told the Sun’s journalists, are what readers are looking for. And staff shouldn’t rely on comments or interviews from government officials for their stories, he said. Instead they should be filing frequent Freedom of Information Act requests — a common tool of journalists.
Some who attended said they found the remarks condescending.
During one exchange, Smith downplayed the role that lead poisoning may be playing in cognitive abilities of some city school children, indicating that studies that show the effects were not trustworthy.
But while Smith told the things he wanted to see different coverage priorities, Williams countered with a different message: The Sun’s journalists are doing well, he said, and things already seemed to be heading in a good direction.
The dueling messages left some scratching their heads.
Williams’ commentaries have been appearing regularly on The Sun’s op ed pages since he and Smith announced they had purchased the storied paper from investment firm and former hedge fund Alden Global Capital in mid-January. During an NPR segment on The Sun that aired for the first time on Monday, former Sun reporter David Folkenflik asked Williams what his role would be at the paper going forward. His answer: “Any role that I want, that’s the role it will be.”
Smith’s Sinclair stations have received intense scrutiny for their promotion of conservative causes and candidates, and Smith and his family have been significant contributors to Republican politicians and groups.
Smith first met with the Sun staff shortly after the purchase announcement, and the meeting was recorded and leaked to competing news outlets. Sun publisher Trif Alatzas warned his reporters at the start of Monday’s meeting that non-consensual recording was illegal in Maryland, and the gathering was a private business meeting, not a public event.
I subscribe to the Capital and would love to see more local content!
I have signed up for the Banner after seeing a month of articles from the new Sun ownership. We are all headed for disaster until religion is given priority in this country, as it seems that path is the only one that teaches moral behavior. Now I just have to figure out how to cancel my Sun subscription.
Then stick with the far right. Religion is their policy!! Separation of church and state, as ordered in the constitution will be a thing of the past and you will be just fine no matter what you decide to read. And, there is always The Bible.
I would love for the Sun new owners to get different assignment editors to cover stories local focused and stop relying on AP and reflect the county’s other than the three blue counties more Red !!
“Support your work”? Why is it mentioned that the new owner has conservative views, but the article doesn’t mention the decades of leftist views that turned the paper into a propaganda sheet? “Support your work”? Why?