MD Senate Republican Caucus Mourning the Examiner

MD Senate Republican Caucus Mourning the Examiner

I especially appreciated Baltimore Examiner reporter Len Lazarick and he and his work will be sorely missed...

The last edition of the Baltimore Examiner was published today.

The Examiner's news coverage and editorial voice provided a much-needed conservative perspective on Maryland political affairs. It is a voice that will be sorely missed.

See our tribute to the Examiner and its State House reporter, Len Lazarick, at our website: www.mdsenategop.com.

The Incredibly Shrinking State House Press Corps

Maryland Senate Republican Caucus http://www.mdsenategop.com/

February 15, 2009

It is with sadness and regret that we report on the passing of the Baltimore Examiner newspaper from the media scene in Maryland.

The Maryland Senate Republican Caucus offers its best wishes to Len Lazarick, who as of today is a former journalist of the State House press corps. Over the past three years, he has been one of the best in his coverage of political affairs in Maryland.

Unlike much of the media in Annapolis, Len would frequently profile opposition voices to the Administration and the Democrat leadership in the legislature. A Republican legislator might be featured in a Lazarick article, instead of being relegated to paragraph 15 of a 16-paragraph article as in other media outlets.

Len also did not allow himself to be manhandled by the Governor's press corps. When an "internal" Department of Budget and Management memo about looming budget cuts was released as an "exclusive" to the two major dailies in the state, Len questioned in his "Life on the State Circle" column why this document was selectively released and whether it was actually a memo written by the Administration specifically to "spin" the press?

The basement quarters of State House press corps were once a crowded and vibrant place. But, as the newspaper industry has declined over the past decade, cutbacks have affected the number of assignments to Annapolis.

Traditionally, local dailies (such as the Hagerstown Herald Mail, Frederick News Post and Carroll County Times), sent reporters to Annapolis full-time during the legislative session. Now, local reporters infrequently visit Annapolis while legislative reporting is mostly handled through Associated Press wire stories.

The larger metropolitan newspapers (Baltimore Sun, Washington Post, Washington Times) and the specialty press (The Daily Record, The Gazette of Politics and Business) have also trimmed their State House positions.

The end result is a significant loss to Maryland's citizens. A diminished capacity of Annapolis media coverage means less transparency in government and fewer opportunities for investigative reporting.

Moreover, the closing of the Baltimore Examiner greatly reduces the diversity of opinion on state affairs - a diversity that in Maryland is already sorely lacking.

20090215 MD Senate Republican Caucus Mourning the Examiner
Kevin Dayhoff www.kevindayhoff.net http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/