David Smith is not the enemy of local journalism

Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to clarify a reference to the founder of the Baltimore Banner.

Journalism elites are decrying the sale of the Baltimore Sun this month to someone they perceive as head of an evil empire. Maryland-based Sinclair is one of the nation’s largest owners of local television stations, and its executive chairman, David Smith, will likely make some big changes to the newspaper now under his personal control. 

Sounding the alarm are some institutional pillars of mainstream media.  The Poynter Institute, known for the Politifact media fact-checking operation, characterized Smith’s meeting with employees just after the purchase as having “flaunted his ignorance of the Sun’s journalism.”

Harvard’s Nieman Lab suggests that Smith’s reign could prove worse than any of the Sun’s previous owners. That’s saying a lot, given previous owners’ reputations as hedge funds managing the decline of newspapers. Illustrating the groupthink of the media establishment, trade magazine Editor and Publisher posts on its website the critical analysis of both the Nieman Lab and Poynter Institute.  

What is it about Sinclair and its leader that has these paragons of journalistic integrity so upset? They assert that Sinclair is a conservative media conglomerate distorting local television news. A frequently cited instance took place in 2018, in which Sinclair orchestrated dozens of anchors at stations across the country reading a script warning about fake news, biased reporting and advocating for a balanced approach to news delivery.  

To at least half the country, this might come across as a reasonable mission statement for today’s media. The New York Times, however, described the statements at the time as a “forced read” as if it was coerced propaganda originating from the Trump administration. Poynter called the airings a “journalism ethics train wreck.” 

In amusing contrast, when the Boston Globe orchestrated a very similar effort among media outlets nationwide, also in 2018, these organizations either were silent or, as in Poynter’s case, actually lauded the approach. Unlike Sinclair, the Globe cited then-President Donald Trump by name, asserting what they perceived as his “sustained assault on a free press.”  

It should be noted that the news cycle at that time was largely driven by the debunked Russia-collusion story, which put the press into such a frenzy, igniting conflict with the Trump administration. An editor at the Globe contacted media outlets across the country, urging them to run a similar editorial. This resulted in hundreds of newspapers parroting their message. So much for concerns about integrity in and focus on local news and commentary. 

Perhaps even more telling about media double standards is the slanted coverage of Smith’s Jan. 16 meeting with Baltimore Sun employees, in which he outlined his vision for the media outlet. Said to be a two-hour long meeting, Smith’s remarks were recorded and given to other press outlets, where his quotes were selectively highlighted  to create a narrative of negativity.  

A frequently cited source is the competing Baltimore Banner, whose founder is a former Democratic state legislator. Although the Washington Post headline is, “Baltimore Sun staff clash with new owner,” there are no Sun employees quoted with which to evaluate whether a “clash” actually took place or not. The Post article goes on to portray Smith as more concerned about profitability than journalism. 

A more complete and unfiltered account of the new ownership’s aspirations comes from the Baltimore Sun itself in a Jan. 20 article. Smith brought on a prominent ownership partner whose investment and stake in the venture had not been disclosed. Conservative commentator Armstrong Williams will be assisting Smith in leading and managing the Sun. His extensive remarks expressed a keen interest in newspapers and struck a non-partisan tone. He sees himself and Smith as “the next caretakers of this newspaper.” There appears to be a desire to build on the type of investigative reporting that would restore trust in local news. 

Most notably for the Baltimore Sun, that would include the Pulitzer-prize winning articles about a corrupt book deal that resulted in the resignation and subsequent prison sentence of Baltimore’s mayor in 2019. 

While a case can be made about the conservative leanings of Smith and Williams, far more profound examples of left-wing media bias are found every day, ranging from cable television news platforms to local market newspapers.   

What would be remarkable, and what might actually restore newspapers in Baltimore and elsewhere, is to end partisan politics-driven media coverage, so that society can emerge from this current dark age of journalism. Instead of viewing new ownership through a cynical partisan lens, here is an enormous opportunity for the Sun to live up to its motto, “Light for All.” 

Jim Pettit served under former Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich (R) and was a periodic contributor to the Baltimore Sun’s editorial page.