Dayhoff Soundtrack: Bryan Sears has left the virtual building for a Patch of greener pastures

Monday, October 25, 2010

Bryan Sears has left the virtual building for a Patch of greener pastures

Bryan Sears has left the virtual building for a Patch of greener pastures

Monday, 25 October 2010

By Kevin Dayhoff

Today, Oct. 25 is Bryan Sear’s first day as Patch.com’s assistant regional editor for Maryland region one and the politics and government reporter in Baltimore County.

Join me in wishing him the best on his new adventure in journalism.

It was on Friday, October 15 that Sears, the award-winning political writer succinctly announced on Facebook “Today was my last day at the Towson Times.”

It was an uncharacteristic short missive for Sears, the well-known and well-read prolific peripatetic political editor for Patuxent Publishing Co.'s eight Baltimore County community newspapers.

(For more on Sears, see: “COUNTY COUP — Patch puts Patuxent Publishing's political pundit on payroll,” written by Alan Z. Forman and of which, I contributed.)

For the last nine years, Sears have covered “government and politics in Baltimore County and state government and politics as it relates to Baltimore County,” according to a brief bio on his newspaper blog, “Strange Bedfellows.”

His blog, on the Explore Baltimore County website, is considered by many political junkies to be must reading for anyone who wants to know anything about Baltimore County – and Maryland politics.

Sears, who is also the president of the local Maryland Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, is also known in the close-knit Maryland area family of journalists as a student of the ever-changing 24/7 world of newspapers in the age of the Internet, Twitter, Facebook and blogs.

He frequently posts newspaper and media news and analysis on his Facebook page, always has time on the phone for inquiries from various other writers, and has constantly pushed the envelope of encouraging the Internet presence of newspapers both vertically and laterally.

According to his personal writer’s blog, “Baltimore County Politics,” he is “also a political contributor on the Maryland Morning News program on Thursdays on WBAL 1090 AM…

“[A]s well as a frequent guest on many of the station’s shows, a co-host on Jay Liner’s ‘All Politics is Local’ show on WCBM 680 AM, and [has] appeared on State Circle on Maryland Public Television.”

As readers quickly filled his Facebook page with best wishes and surprise, folks slowly coaxed more information out of Sears about the abrupt change of venue.

“I'm sure I’ll probably repeat this a few times but for you early birds... I'm going to Patch.com here in Baltimore County where I will continue to cover county government and politics,” wrote Sears.

Later, Sears revealed even more insight into his new job, “I'm the assistant regional editor for Maryland Region 1 (mostly Baltimore County) and I'll be covering Baltimore County government for the Patch.com sites in Baltimore County…”

“There's a lot more to say about this and I'm sure it will all be said but it's important to start with noting that I spent about 1/4 of my life (about 9 years) here at Patuxent and loved the work. I love my home county and what I covered and was honored to work with the reporters and staff that came and went during my time.

“The work I did at The Towson Times was the best of my career (so far -- stay tuned) and it is in no small part due to the people around me who helped me become a better reporter every day.”

Saturday, on his personal writer’s blog, Sears elaborated more, “It’s been a whirlwind week here at the home office in Towson,” said Sears in “Leave? I live here.”

“In case you haven’t heard, I left the Towson Times and Patuxent Publishing Co. Friday. (Well, technically Thursday but what’s a few hours among friends?)”

Sears went on to explain that his tenure with Patuxent “ended Thursday when I gave notice of my intention to leave and go to Patch.com and was subsequently let go a day later. It’s an odd feeling to be let go from a job where you work from home.

“I’d be escorted out of any other office under the same circumstances. This time, everything was done by phone and e-mail and when it was over I simply hung up the phone and let my dog in…

“I start the new gig on Oct. 25 where I’ll be Patch.com’s assistant regional editor for Maryland region one and the politics and government reporter in Baltimore County.

“Patch.com is a hyper-local news source that has sites around the country

including 27 in Maryland. Four of those are in Baltimore county — Catonsville, Lutherville-Timonium, Perry Hall and Towson.

Since the beginnings of newspapers in

Germany

in 1615, newspapers have always been changing, adapting – and controversial.

Many historians accept that 1960 was the first year more Americans got more of their news by watching TV than reading the newspaper. Recent historians believe that the year 2000 was the first year that more Americans get their news from the Internet than from the television.

Enter into the fray, Patch. Jay Yarow wrote in Business Insider on May 2, 2010, “AOL plans to spend $50 million to build hundreds of Patch sites… this year according to its 10-K.”

For those who have been around the block several times, in the last decade, in which the newspaper industry has labored under a bad case of the flu, there have been plenty of newspapers that have come and gone.

Who can forget the short life of the print edition of the Baltimore Examiner that lasted from April 4, 2006 until February 15, 2009? Today, the Baltimore Examiner continues an online presence; of which many with 20/20 hindsight suggest is where it ought to have concentrated its energies from the beginning.

However, Patch is going to be only an Internet newspaper and not have to deal with the expense and aggravation of printing presses and newspaper delivery.

The data migration from newsprint to website media has been ugly. So much so, that several years ago, a younger colleague who was an early adopter of advocating for a strong Internet presence for newspapers, once said, in a moment of total frustration, that if he had his way, no-one over the age of 45 should be allowed to be newspaper management.

Sears is 42 years-old.

Photo of Bryan Sears Courtesy of Baltimore County Politics

20101024 sdosmKED Sears has left building