{{Short description|American daily broadsheet newspaper}} {{Use mdy dates|date=October 2012}} {{Infobox newspaper | name = The Baltimore Sun | logo = frameless|class=skin-invert | image = Front page of the Baltimore Sun, March 27, 2024.png | image_size = 220 | caption = Front page on March 27, 2024, after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse | type = Daily newspaper | format = Broadsheet | founded = {{start date and age|1837|5|17}} | owner = JTF Publications LLC (David D. Smith and Armstrong Williams) | headquarters = 200 St. Paul Place, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. | publishing_city = Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. | publishing_country = United States | publisher = Trif Alatzas<ref name=Alatzas>{{cite news|last1=Sherman|first1=Natalie|title=Baltimore Sun editor Trif Alatzas named publisher amid Tribune shake-up|url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-alatzas-publisher-baltimore-sun-20160302-story.html|access-date=March 24, 2017|work=The Baltimore Sun|date=March 2, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160302222729/http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-alatzas-publisher-baltimore-sun-20160302-story.html|archive-date=March 2, 2016|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}}</ref> | editor = Trif Alatzas | circulation = 43,000 daily ({{as of|2021|lc=y}})<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://techxplore.com/news/2021-03-baltimore-sun-major-nonprofit-news.html|title=Baltimore Sun deal sets up major test for nonprofit news model|first=Rob|last=Lever|website=techxplore.com|access-date=March 21, 2022|archive-date=May 23, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220523210915/https://techxplore.com/news/2021-03-baltimore-sun-major-nonprofit-news.html|url-status=live}}</ref> <br /> 85,000 digital subscribers<ref>{{cite news |last1=Fisher |first1=Marc |title=Sunset in Baltimore |url=https://niemanreports.org/sunset-in-baltimore/ |access-date=December 8, 2025 |publisher=Nieman Lab |date=November 25, 2024}}</ref> | ISSN = 1930-8965 | oclc = 244481759 | motto = ''Light for All'' | website = {{official URL}} }}
'''''The Baltimore Sun''''' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local, regional, national, and international news.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://library.dialog.com/bluesheets/html/bl0714.html|title=Bluesheets: (Baltimore) The Sun|publisher=Thomson Reuters|access-date=May 28, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110710122729/http://library.dialog.com/bluesheets/html/bl0714.html|archive-date=July 10, 2011|date=September 1, 2005|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref>
Founded in 1837, the newspaper was owned by Tribune Publishing until May 2021, when it was acquired by Alden Global Capital, which operates its media properties through Digital First Media.<ref name="closedsale">{{cite news |last1=Roeder |first1=David |title=Chicago Tribune staff gets buyout offers as Alden takes over |url=https://chicago.suntimes.com/business/2021/5/26/22455776/chicago-tribune-staff-gets-buyout-offers-as-alden-takes-over |access-date=June 2, 2021 |agency=Chicago Sun Times |date=May 26, 2021 |archive-date=June 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602214420/https://chicago.suntimes.com/business/2021/5/26/22455776/chicago-tribune-staff-gets-buyout-offers-as-alden-takes-over |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="nprsale">{{cite news |last1=Folkenflik |first1=David |title='Vulture' Fund Alden Global, Known For Slashing Newsrooms, Buys Tribune Papers |url=https://www.npr.org/2021/05/21/998730863/vulture-fund-alden-global-known-for-slashing-newsrooms-buys-tribune-papers |access-date=May 21, 2021 |publisher=NPR |date=May 21, 2021 |archive-date=May 21, 2021 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210521172142/https://www.npr.org/2021/05/21/998730863/vulture-fund-alden-global-known-for-slashing-newsrooms-buys-tribune-papers |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="tribnodeal">{{cite news |last1=Chicago Tribune Staff |title=Tribune Publishing ends discussions with Maryland hotel executive, moving forward with hedge fund Alden's bid for newspaper chain |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-tribune-publishing-alden-sale-20210419-uqlp6yjxvbdhlkd2yjanh6thre-story.html |access-date=April 20, 2021 |publisher=Chicago Tribune |date=April 19, 2021 |archive-date=April 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419234148/https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-tribune-publishing-alden-sale-20210419-uqlp6yjxvbdhlkd2yjanh6thre-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Tracy |first1=Marc |title=Hedge Fund Reaches a Deal to Buy Tribune Publishing |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/16/business/media/alden-tribune-newspaper-sale.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211228/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/16/business/media/alden-tribune-newspaper-sale.html |archive-date=2021-12-28 |url-access=limited |access-date=February 17, 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=February 16, 2021}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Feder |first1=Robert |title='Sad, sobering day' for Chicago Tribune as Alden wins takeover bid |url=https://www.robertfeder.com/2021/05/21/sad-sobering-day-chicago-tribune-alden-wins-takeover-bid/ |access-date=May 23, 2021 |date=May 21, 2021 |archive-date=May 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210522122523/https://www.robertfeder.com/2021/05/21/sad-sobering-day-chicago-tribune-alden-wins-takeover-bid/ |url-status=live }}</ref> David D. Smith, the executive chairman of Sinclair Broadcast Group, closed a deal to buy the paper on January 15, 2024.<ref name="smith sale">{{cite news |last1=Mirabella |first1=Lorraine |title=The Baltimore Sun purchased by Sinclair's David D. Smith |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2024/01/15/baltimore-sun-media-sold-david-d-smith/ |access-date=15 January 2024 |work=Baltimore Sun |date=15 January 2024}}</ref> Under Smith's ownership, the paper has shifted to become politically conservative,<ref name="Folkenflik 02262026"/><ref name="West 10102024"/><ref name="Blanchard 04062026"/> and has seen large staff departures and declines in readership.<ref name="Boteler 03072025"/><ref name="ConfrontSmith" />
==History== ===19th century=== ''The Sun'' was founded on May 17, 1837, by Arunah Shepherdson Abell and two associates, William Moseley Swain from Rhode Island, and Azariah H. Simmons from Philadelphia, where they had started and published the ''Public Ledger'' the year before.
Abell became a journalist with the ''Providence Patriot'' and later worked with newspapers in New York City and Boston.<ref name="doren">Van Doren, Charles and Robert McKendry, ed., ''Webster's American Biographies''. (Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 1984) p. 5.</ref>
===20th century=== The Abell family and descendants owned ''The Sun'' until 1910, when the local Black and Garrett families invested in the paper at the suggestion of former rival owner/publisher of ''The News'', Charles H. Grasty, and they, along with Grasty gained a controlling interest; they retained the name A. S. Abell Company for the parent publishing company. That same year '''''The Evening Sun''''' was established under reporter, editor and columnist H.L. Mencken (1880–1956).
From 1947 to 1986, ''The Sun'' was the owner and founder of Maryland's first television station, WMAR-TV (channel 2), which was a longtime affiliate of CBS until 1981, when it switched to NBC. The station was sold off in 1986, and is now owned by the E. W. Scripps Company, and has been an ABC affiliate since 1995. A. S. Abell also owned several radio stations, but not in Baltimore itself (holding construction permits for WMAR sister AM/FM stations, but never bringing them to air).
The newspaper opened its first foreign bureau in London in 1924. Between 1955 and 1961, it added four new foreign offices.
As Cold War tensions grew, it set up shop in Bonn, West Germany, in February 1955; the bureau was later moved to Berlin. Eleven months later, ''The Sun'' was one of the first U.S. newspapers to open a bureau in Moscow. A Rome office followed in July 1957, and a New Delhi bureau was opened four years later, in 1961 .<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/218883492/|title=The Baltimore Sun opens bureau in India|date=1961-01-17|newspaper=The Baltimore Sun|access-date=2017-03-31|archive-date=April 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170401060500/https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/218883492/|url-status=live}}</ref> At its height, ''The Sun'' ran eight foreign bureaus, giving rise to its boast in a 1983 advertisement that "The Sun never sets on the world."<ref name="auto">{{Cite news|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2005/10/07/sun-cuts-foreign-bureaus-from-5-to-3/|title=Sun cuts foreign bureaus from 5 to 3|last=Madigan|first=Nick|date=2005-10-07|newspaper=The Baltimore Sun|access-date=2017-03-31|archive-date=April 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170401060007/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2005-10-07/business/0510070289_1_bureaus-chicago-tribune-sun|url-status=live}}</ref>
The paper was sold by Reg Murphy in 1986 to the Times-Mirror Company of the ''Los Angeles Times''.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Izadi|first1=Elahe|last2=Ellison|first2=Sarah|title=The battle for Tribune: Inside the campaign to find new owners for a legendary group of newspapers|language=en-US|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/media/the-battle-for-tribune-inside-the-campaign-to-find-new-owners-for-a-legendary-group-of-newspapers/2021/04/05/84e45cc6-9253-11eb-bb49-5cb2a95f4cec_story.html|access-date=2021-04-06|issn=0190-8286|archive-date=April 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210406113820/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/media/the-battle-for-tribune-inside-the-campaign-to-find-new-owners-for-a-legendary-group-of-newspapers/2021/04/05/84e45cc6-9253-11eb-bb49-5cb2a95f4cec_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
The same week, a 115-year-old rivalry ended when the oldest newspaper in the city, the ''News American'', a Hearst paper since the 1920s with roots dating back to 1773, folded.<ref>{{Cite news| issn = 0190-8286| last1 = Walsh| first1 = Sharon Warren| last2 = R| first2 = Eleanor| last3 = olph| last4 = Ifill| first4 = Washington Post Staff Writers; Staff writers Gwen| last5 = repo| first5 = Steve Luxenberg also contributed to this| title = Baltimore Sun Papers Sold to Times Mirror Co.| newspaper = The Washington Post| access-date = 2018-06-10| date = 1986-05-29| url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1986/05/29/baltimore-sun-papers-sold-to-times-mirror-co/d34d13fc-c0dc-4348-aa58-2ca6b50a433b/| archive-date = June 12, 2018| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180612150838/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1986/05/29/baltimore-sun-papers-sold-to-times-mirror-co/d34d13fc-c0dc-4348-aa58-2ca6b50a433b/| url-status = live}}</ref> A decade later in 1997, ''The Sun'' acquired the Patuxent Publishing Company, a local suburban newspaper publisher that had a stable of 15 weekly papers and a few magazines in several communities and counties.<ref>[https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1997-06-11-1997162002-story.html "Baltimore Sun to buy Patuxent Publishing Columbia company has 15 newspapers, magazines in region"], ''Baltimore Sun''</ref>
In the 1990s and 2000s, ''The Sun'' began cutting back its foreign coverage. In 1995 and 1996, the paper closed its Tokyo, Mexico City and Berlin bureaus. Two more—Beijing and London—fell victim to cost-cutting in 2005.<ref name="auto"/> The final three foreign bureaus—Moscow, Jerusalem, and Johannesburg, South Africa—fell a couple of years later.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2006/07/07/tribune-co-is-closing-suns-foreign-bureaus/|title=Tribune Co. is closing Sun's foreign bureaus|last=Madigan|first=Nick|date=2006-07-06|newspaper=The Baltimore Sun|access-date=2017-03-31|archive-date=April 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170401060548/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2006-07-07/business/0607070011_1_bureaus-chicago-tribune-sun|url-status=live}}</ref> All were closed by 2008, as the Tribune Co. streamlined and downsized the newspaper chain's foreign reporting. Some material from ''The Sun''{{'}}s foreign correspondents is archived at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.<ref>[http://library.umbc.edu/speccoll/findingaids/coll024.php "Baltimore Sun Foreign Bureaus records"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170401144209/http://library.umbc.edu/speccoll/findingaids/coll024.php |date=April 1, 2017 }}, University of Maryland, Baltimore County</ref>
===21st century=== In the 21st century, ''The Sun'', like most legacy newspapers in the United States, has suffered a number of setbacks in the competition with Internet and other sources, including a decline in readership and ads, a shrinking newsroom staff,<ref>{{cite web|title=Tribune Co. announces plans to layoff [sic] 27 percent of The Baltimore Sun's newsroom staff, including four columnists |publisher=Poynter |url=http://www.poynter.org/forum/view_post.asp?id=13920 |access-date=May 30, 2009 |date=May 30, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090514010338/http://www.poynter.org/forum/view_post.asp?id=13920 |archive-date=May 14, 2009 }}</ref> and competition from 2005 to 2007 with the free daily ''The Baltimore Examiner'', along with a similar Washington, D.C.–based publication of a small chain recently started by new owners that took over the ''San Francisco Examiner''.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Examiner Plans Baltimore Edition |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/17/AR2005101701561.html |access-date=June 25, 2007 |date=October 18, 2007 |first=Annys |last=Shin |archive-date=November 2, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102173925/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/17/AR2005101701561.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2000, the Times-Mirror company was purchased by the Tribune Company of Chicago. In 2014, it transferred its newspapers, including ''The Sun'', to Tribune Publishing.
The ''Sun'' introduced a new layout design in September 2005, and again in August 2008.<ref>{{cite web|author=Charles Apple|title=Live pages from the Baltimore Sun's redesign|publisher=visualeditors.com|url=http://www.visualeditors.com/apple/2008/08/live-pages-from-the-baltimore-sun-redesign/|date=August 24, 2008|access-date=October 22, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080913051609/http://www.visualeditors.com/apple/2008/08/live-pages-from-the-baltimore-sun-redesign/|archive-date=September 13, 2008|df=mdy-all}}</ref> By 2010 daily circulation {{as of|lc=y|2010}} had fallen to 195,561 and 343,552 for the Sunday edition. On April 29, 2009, the Tribune Company announced the lay off of 61 of the 205 staff members in the ''Sun'' newsroom.<ref name=9.6%>Mirabella, Lorraine; [http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2010-04-26/business/bs-bz-sun-circulation-20100426_1_average-daily-circulation-baltimore-sun-media-group-previous-six-month-period"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100826155909/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2010-04-26/business/bs-bz-sun-circulation-20100426_1_average-daily-circulation-baltimore-sun-media-group-previous-six-month-period |date=August 26, 2010 }} ''The Baltimore Sun'', April 28, 2009</ref> On September 23, 2011, it was reported<ref>{{cite web |last=Romenesko |first=Jim |url=http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/romenesko/147138/baltimore-sun-to-put-up-paywall-next-month/ |title=Updated: Baltimore Sun to put up paywall next month | Poynter |publisher=Poynter. |access-date=2014-02-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111112164415/http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/romenesko/147138/baltimore-sun-to-put-up-paywall-next-month/ |archive-date=November 12, 2011 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref> that the ''Baltimore Sun'' would be moving its web edition behind a paywall starting October 10, 2011.
''The Baltimore Sun'' is the flagship of the Baltimore Sun Media Group, which also produces the ''b'' free daily newspaper and more than 30 other Baltimore metropolitan-area community newspapers, magazines and Web sites. BSMG content reaches more than one million Baltimore-area readers each week and is the region's most widely read source of news.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/fun-stuff/bal-pressroom,0,1771123.html |title=(Baltimore) The Sun |work=The Baltimore Sun |access-date=August 11, 2009}} {{Dead link|date=August 2009}}</ref>
On February 20, 2014, The Baltimore Sun Media Group announced that they would buy the alternative weekly ''City Paper''.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-baltimore-sun-media-group-to-buy-city-paper-20140220,0,2746564.story | title=Baltimore Sun Media Group to buy City Paper | work=The Baltimore Sun | access-date=February 20, 2014 | archive-date=February 20, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140220214716/http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-baltimore-sun-media-group-to-buy-city-paper-20140220,0,2746564.story | url-status=live }}</ref> In April, the Sun acquired the Maryland publications of Landmark Media Enterprises.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-baltimore-sun-media-group-buys-the-capital-in-annapolis-and-the-carroll-county-times,0,1541424.story|title=Baltimore Sun Media Group buys The Capital in Annapolis and the Carroll County Times|first=Jean|last=Marbella|date=May 2014|access-date=May 2, 2014|archive-date=August 12, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812142038/http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-baltimore-sun-media-group-buys-the-capital-in-annapolis-and-the-carroll-county-times,0,1541424.story|url-status=dead}}</ref>
In February 2021, as part of the planned merger between Tribune Publishing and Alden Global Capital, Tribune announced that Alden had reached a non-binding agreement to sell The Sun to the Sunlight For All Institute, a nonprofit backed by businessman and philanthropist Stewart W. Bainum Jr. The deal was contingent on approval by Tribune shareholders of the merger deal.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Dinsmore |first1=Christopher |title=Baltimore Sun Media poised to be acquired by nonprofit from Tribune Publishing |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-bz-sun-tribune-nonprofit-20210216-kd2vb25tc5a5hjsfbskhwebvqm-story.html |access-date=17 February 2021 |newspaper=The Baltimore Sun |archive-date=February 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210217032257/https://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-bz-sun-tribune-nonprofit-20210216-kd2vb25tc5a5hjsfbskhwebvqm-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> It fell apart in talks over operating agreements with Tribune for functions including human resources and customer service.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Dinsmore |first1=Christopher |last2=Mirabella |first2=Lorraine |title=Deal for Baltimore Sun may be off as Maryland businessman looks to buy all of Tribune Publishing |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2021/03/15/deal-for-baltimore-sun-may-be-off-as-maryland-businessman-looks-to-buy-all-of-tribune-publishing/ |access-date=17 January 2024 |work=Baltimore Sun |date=15 March 2021}}</ref> Bainum then led a failed bid to acquire all of Tribune Publishing.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Channick |first1=Robert |last2=Dinsmore |first2=Christopher |title=Maryland businessman bids $650 million for all of Tribune, including The Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2021/03/24/maryland-businessman-bids-650-million-for-all-of-tribune-including-the-baltimore-sun/ |access-date=17 January 2024 |work=Baltimore Sun |date=24 March 2021}}</ref> Bainum subsequently founded ''The Baltimore Banner'', pledging $50 million to the nonprofit outlet.
In February 2022, the editorial board of ''The Sun'' published a lengthy apology for its racism over its 185–year history, including specific offenses such as accepting classified ads for selling enslaved people and publishing editorials that promoted racial segregation and disenfranchisement of Black voters.<ref>{{cite web | website=Fox News | last=Wulfsohn | first=Joseph A. | date=February 18, 2022 | title=Baltimore Sun editorial board apologizes for paper's past racism in its 185-year history | url=https://www.foxnews.com/media/baltimore-sun-apologizes-racism | access-date=February 19, 2022 | archive-date=February 19, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220219013719/https://www.foxnews.com/media/baltimore-sun-apologizes-racism | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | website=The Wrap | last=Lambert | first=Harper | date=February 18, 2022 | title=Baltimore Sun Apologizes for Decades of 'Systemic Racism' in Coverage and Editorials | url=https://www.thewrap.com/baltimore-sun-apologizes-for-decades-of-systemic-racism-in-coverage-and-editorials/ | access-date=February 19, 2022 | archive-date=February 18, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220218225123/https://www.thewrap.com/baltimore-sun-apologizes-for-decades-of-systemic-racism-in-coverage-and-editorials/ | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | newspaper=The Baltimore Sun | date=February 18, 2022 | title=We are deeply and profoundly sorry: For decades, The Baltimore Sun promoted policies that oppressed Black Marylanders; we are working to make amends | url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/opinion/editorial/bs-ed-0220-sun-racial-reckoning-apology-online-20220218-qp32uybk5bgqrcnd732aicrouu-story.html | access-date=February 19, 2022 | archive-date=February 19, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220219005840/https://www.baltimoresun.com/opinion/editorial/bs-ed-0220-sun-racial-reckoning-apology-online-20220218-qp32uybk5bgqrcnd732aicrouu-story.html | url-status=live }}</ref>
====Acquisition by David Smith==== In January 2024, David D. Smith, executive chairman of Sinclair Broadcast Group, reached an agreement to acquire the paper, with conservative commentator Armstrong Williams holding an undisclosed stake. Though the transaction was independent of Sinclair, Smith said he foresaw partnerships between the paper and Sinclair properties like its flagship station, Fox affiliate WBFF-TV (channel 45). Smith said he believed he could grow subscriptions and advertising through a greater focus on community news and integrating technology in ways other print media publishers are not doing.<ref name="smith sale" /> In his first visit to the newsroom, he sparred with reporters and said the paper should emulate WBFF's news philosophy, including through non-scientific reader polls and aggressive coverage of Baltimore City Public Schools. He dismissed newsroom concerns about the future of public service journalism.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Boteler |first1=Cody |last2=Sanderlin |first2=Lee O. |last3=Bologna |first3=Giacomo |title=New Baltimore Sun owner insults staff, says paper should mimic Fox45 |url=https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/economy/baltimore-sun-david-smith-sinclair-owner-F77S3D47ORD7LNEPZ7PJCXSLWM/ |access-date=17 January 2024 |work=The Baltimore Banner |date=17 January 2024 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Shen |first1=Fern |title=Staffers react to their first meeting with Baltimore Sun's new owner |url=https://baltimorebrew.com/2024/01/16/staffers-react-to-their-first-meeting-with-the-baltimore-suns-new-owner/ |access-date=17 January 2024 |work=Baltimore Brew |date=16 January 2024}}</ref> Current and recently departed ''Baltimore Sun'' reporters told the Neiman Foundation for Journalism in November 2024 that in the months since Smith's purchase, he has continued to tell journalists that he doesn't read stories published in their paper beyond just the headline, and has neither pitched specific stories nor openly criticized the paper's coverage of stories.<ref name="SunsetNeiman" /> In December 2024, Smith told ''Sun'' photographer Amy Davis that he had begun reading ''The Baltimore Sun''.<ref name="ConfrontSmith">{{cite news |last1=Shen |first1=Fern |title=Brandishing fliers that call David Smith a union buster, a Baltimore Sun journalist confronts newspaper owner face to face |url=https://www.baltimorebrew.com/2024/12/21/brandishing-fliers-that-call-david-smith-a-union-buster-a-baltimore-sun-journalist-confronts-newspaper-owner-face-to-face/ |access-date=December 21, 2024 |work=Baltimore Brew |date=December 21, 2024 |language=en-us}}</ref>
Since Smith's acquisition of ''The Baltimore Sun'', the paper has become more conservative, and has published more stories on Baltimore mayor Brandon Scott and his administration, as well as crime in Baltimore.<ref name="Folkenflik 02262026">{{cite news |last1=Folkenflik |first1=David |title=More crime and conservatism: How new owners are changing 'The Baltimore Sun' |url=https://www.npr.org/2024/02/26/1233856063/baltimore-sun-new-owner-david-smith-sinclair |access-date=March 4, 2024 |work=NPR |date=February 26, 2024}}</ref> The paper has also republished content from WBFF, also owned by Smith, the conservative news wire The Center Square,<ref name="West 10102024">{{cite news |last1=West |first1=Walinda |title=Baltimore Fishbowl {{!}} Baltimore Sun staff push back against quotas as they seek new union contract |url=https://baltimorefishbowl.com/stories/baltimore-sun-staff-push-back-against-quotas-as-they-seek-new-union-contract/ |access-date=10 October 2024 |work=Baltimore Fishbowl |date=14 August 2024}}</ref> columns written by Smith's daughter, and features on new restaurants opened by Atlas Restaurant Group, which is owned by Smith's nephew.<ref name="SunsetNeiman">{{cite news |last1=Fisher |first1=Marc |title=Sunset in Baltimore |url=https://niemanreports.org/sunset-in-baltimore/ |access-date=November 28, 2024 |work=Nieman Foundation for Journalism |date=November 25, 2024}}</ref> According to industry figures and reporting by ''The Baltimore Banner'', readership of the newspaper fell by nearly half in the first year of Smith's acquisition and the ''Baltimore Sun''{{'}}s website had fewer unique visitors to its website than in the year before. At least 20 journalists left the company,<ref name="Boteler 03072025">{{cite news |last1=Boteler |first1=Cody |title=Readership declines and staff exodus follow sale at Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/community/local-news/baltimore-sun-david-smith-audience-JMYW2ZAEPJBSTML2RJAOZT3NWU/ |access-date=March 7, 2025 |work=The Baltimore Banner |date=March 7, 2025 |language=en}}</ref> with many citing concerns they held over the way stories about juvenile crime and city government in Baltimore were written, and other reporters leaving to work for ''The Baltimore Banner''.<ref name="ConfrontSmith" />
Williams said the paper's editorial page would cease endorsing political candidates and start including more conservative viewpoints, but not at the expense of liberal ones. He said at the time that the newspaper may run his syndicated column "on its merits."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Mirabella |first1=Lorraine |title=After Baltimore Sun sale to David Smith, part-owner Armstrong Williams offers vision |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2024/01/20/baltimore-sun-sale-sinclair-david-smith-armstrong-williams/ |access-date=20 January 2024 |work=Baltimore Sun |date=20 January 2024}}</ref> The paper's opinion page now regularly publishes Wiliiams' columns and video commentaries.<ref>{{cite web |title=Armstrong Williams |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/author/armstrong-williams/ |website=Baltimore Sun |access-date=4 June 2024 |date=31 May 2024}}</ref> In June 2024, ''The Sun'' began republishing content from channel 45's website, provoking protests from staffers and the Baltimore Sun Guild, which released a statement expressing concern with the lack of transparency at the paper on the relationship between The Baltimore Sun, Fox45 and other Sinclair newsrooms, and criticizing language used in the station's articles and Williams' editorial articles, particularly toward immigrants and transgender people.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Boteler |first1=Cody |title=Sun union says ethics 'tossed aside' after sale, demands end to Fox45 stories |url=https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/community/local-news/baltimore-sun-union-david-smith-ethics-4LNE3HJ5HRAS7PLSKDY3IL52C4/ |access-date=June 11, 2024 |work=The Baltimore Banner |date=June 10, 2024 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Shen |first1=Fern |title=Baltimore Sun staffers protest after new owners begin publishing Fox45 stories in the newspaper |url=https://baltimorebrew.com/2024/06/10/baltimore-sun-staffers-protest-after-new-owners-begin-publishing-fox45-stories-in-the-newspaper/ |access-date=June 11, 2024 |work=Baltimore Brew |date=June 10, 2024 |language=en-us}}</ref>
In June 2024, longtime managing editor Sam Davis announced he would retire at the end of the month. Opinion editor Tricia Bishop, who has worked for the newspaper since 1999, would succeed him, with Davis staying on for a few months as a consultant for ''The Baltimore Sun''{{'}}s owners.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Mirabella |first1=Lorraine |title=Managing Editor Sam Davis to retire from Baltimore Sun; Tricia Bishop to take over newsroom management |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2024/06/04/managing-editor-sam-davis-retire-tricia-bishop/ |access-date=4 June 2024 |work=The Baltimore Sun |date=4 June 2024}}</ref> The Sun's primary obituary writer, Frederick N. Rasmussen, who worked at the paper for 51 years and wrote thousands of obituaries, resigned in January 2025 over the direction of management.<ref>{{cite web |last=Dieterle |first=Marcus |title=Longtime Baltimore Sun obituaries writer Frederick N. Rasmussen resigns after more than 51 years |work=Baltimore Fishbowl |date=January 31, 2025 |access-date=2025-10-01 |url=https://baltimorefishbowl.com/stories/longtime-baltimore-sun-obituaries-writer-frederick-n-rasmussen-resigns-after-more-than-51-years/ }}</ref>
On June 10, 2024, the Baltimore Sun Guild raised concern with what it said were ethical breaches committed by management since the takeover, including the use of Fox 45's content and Williams columns that did not meet ''Sun'' editorial standards. This included language used to describe immigrants and transgender people. The guild demanded the ''Sun'' stop republishing WBFF-TV content and asked management to meet with staff to discuss their concerns. Williams said in a statement he respected the guild's opinion but hoped the union "reciprocally appreciates legitimate managerial prerogatives in the journalistic enterprise".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Boteler |first1=Cody |title=Sun union says ethics 'tossed aside' after sale, demands end to Fox45 stories |url=https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/community/local-news/baltimore-sun-union-david-smith-ethics-4LNE3HJ5HRAS7PLSKDY3IL52C4/ |access-date=14 June 2024 |work=The Baltimore Banner |date=10 June 2024 |language=en}}</ref> In a subsequent ''Sun'' column, Williams wrote the guild and the Associated Press had no inherent authority to prescribe the way in which language is used.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Williams |first1=Armstrong |title=Armstrong Williams: Censorship atrophies critical thinking {{!}} Staff Commentary |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2024/06/12/armstrong-williams-censorship-atrophies-critical-thinking-staff-commentary/ |access-date=14 June 2024 |work=The Baltimore Sun |date=12 June 2024}}</ref> Despite this, the wording used to describe immigrants in one republished Fox 45 story was eventually changed.<ref name="SunsetNeiman" />
The Baltimore Sun Guild has also raised concerns with the new ownership's efforts to stall contract negotiations with the paper's unionized reporters, with some employees handing out fliers at restaurants owned by David Smith's nephew, Alex, calling Smith a "union buster". Smith denied these accusations, telling ''Sun'' photographer Amy Davis that he had multiple union employees across the country and that he'd been negotiating with unions for fifty years, despite employee testimony that Smith threatened to shut down WBFF-TV after its employees started talking about forming a union. Smith also dismissed Davis's concerns that management was proposing union-busting clauses in negotiations, including the ability to terminate employees without just cause, saying, "Nobody does that. There are laws to protect people from that".<ref name="ConfrontSmith" /> In September 2025, ''The Baltimore Sun''{{'}}s management proposed a new contract to its union employees that included a gag rule prohibiting Guild members from making "false or disparaging statements" about the paper's management or ownership, blaming disparaging statements made by the Baltimore Sun Guild for the paper's circulation drop. Since proposing the gag rule, management has refused to continue bargaining with the Baltimore Sun Guild, calling their latest contract their "last, best, and final offer".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Shen |first1=Fern |title=Baltimore Sun Guild journalists face a gag order imposed by owner David Smith |url=https://www.baltimorebrew.com/2025/09/30/baltimore-sun-guild-reporters-face-a-gag-order-imposed-by-owner-david-smith/ |access-date=September 30, 2025 |work=Baltimore Brew |date=September 30, 2025 |language=en-us}}</ref>
Following the ''Sun''{{'}}s acquisition, one of its arts reporters asked Smith if she should look for a new job amid his acquisition. Smith avoided the reporter's question and instead discussed his past as a "world-class furniture builder" and a photographer. In October 2024, the newspaper eliminated its features desk and reassigned its three reporters to news departments.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Woods |first1=Baynard |title=Baltimore Is Fighting the Right-Wing Takeover of Its Iconic Newspaper |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/baltimore-sun-right-wing-takeover-david-smith-1235268329/ |access-date=February 16, 2025 |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=February 16, 2025}}</ref> The guild said in a statement that it would be the first time since 1888 that the paper would be without coverage of the city's cultural life.<ref>{{cite web |author1=Baltimore Sun Guild |title=The Baltimore Sun dissolved its features department Monday, reassigning its staff to news departments – the first time since at least 1888 the newspaper won't have even one reporter dedicated to covering the city's cultural life. |url=https://x.com/baltsunguild/status/1850942487671767550 |publisher=Twitter |access-date=November 28, 2024 |date=October 28, 2024}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=November 2024}} In February 2026, the guild criticized the paper's management for publishing AI-generated news stories providing analyses of Maryland governor Wes Moore's State of the State Address and President Donald Trump's social media posts, branding the stories as "AI slop".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Shen |first1=Fern |title=Union denounces AI-generated news stories, as Baltimore Sun management predicts more of them |url=https://www.baltimorebrew.com/2026/02/16/union-denounces-ai-generated-news-stories-as-baltimore-sun-management-predicts-more-of-them/ |access-date=February 22, 2026 |work=Baltimore Brew |date=February 16, 2026 |language=en-us}}</ref>
In April 2026, ''Semafor'' reported that ''The Sun'' had brought on a team of investigators from WBFF-TV to comb through Moore's records, including his military record as well as his high school and collegiate basketball tenure, as Moore ran for re-election in 2026 and was viewed as a potential candidate in the 2028 United States presidential election. According to records shared by Moore's office with ''Semafor'', the investigative team had grown frustrated with what they felt was Moore's reluctance to share records about his records, prompting Drew Sullins, one of the investigators, to send an email to Moore's communications director, David Turner, accusing Moore and his communications team of "failing repeatedly to answer the most basic questions about his time in the Army and his deployment to Afghanistan". After another investigator, Sean Lawlor, responded to Sullins's email with "That's a hammer!" while accidentally including Moore's team on the reply, prompting several email addresses to attempt to "recall" and unsend Lawlor's email, including Smith, who had not been visibly included on the original emails.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Tani |first1=Max |title=Maryland's biggest newspaper is going after the governor’s 2028 campaign |url=https://www.semafor.com/article/04/05/2026/marylands-biggest-newspaper-is-going-after-the-governors-2028-campaign |access-date=April 6, 2026 |work=Semafor |date=April 6, 2026}}</ref> ''Politico'' reported that current and former staff told ''Semafor'' that the paper's new mandate was "to expose fraud and misdeeds among Democratic politicians in the state" and that "David Smith, the Trump ally and longtime Sinclair steward, has been deeply involved in the team’s coverage".<ref name="Blanchard 04062026">{{cite news |last1=Blanchard |first1=Jack |last2=Burns|first2=Dasha|title=The two sides of American power |url=https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2026/04/06/the-two-sides-of-american-power-00859474 |access-date=April 6, 2026 |work=Politico |date=April 6, 2026}}</ref> In an interview later that month, Moore called the ''Sun''{{'}}s investigation into his military career "not legitimate" and criticized Smith and other "MAGA billionaires" for using local press like their personal Twitter accounts. Moore also said that Smith should "really be careful about throwing stones", adding that Smith had a pretty sketchy history himself.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Weigel |first1=David |title=Moore takes on the Sun’s ‘MAGA billionaire’ and more |url=https://www.semafor.com/article/04/10/2026/moore-takes-on-the-suns-maga-billionaire-and-more |access-date=April 10, 2026 |work=Semafor |date=April 10, 2026}}</ref>
==Editions== From 1910 to 1995 there were two distinct newspapers, ''The Sun'', which was published in the morning, and ''The Evening Sun'', which was published in the afternoon. Each newspaper maintained separate reporting and editorial staff.
''The Evening Sun'' was first published in 1910 under the leadership of Charles H. Grasty, former owner of the ''Evening News'', and a firm believer in the evening circulation. For most of its existence, ''The Evening Sun'' led its morning sibling in circulation. In 1959, the afternoon edition's circulation was 220,174, compared to 196,675 for the morning edition.<ref name="auto1">{{Cite news|url=http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1995-06-26/news/1995177152_1_evening-sun-hearst-corp-pages|title=As the end draws closer for The Evening Sun...|date=1995-06-26|newspaper=The Baltimore Sun|access-date=2017-03-31|archive-date=April 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170401055629/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1995-06-26/news/1995177152_1_evening-sun-hearst-corp-pages|url-status=dead}}</ref> However, by the 1980s, cultural, technological and economic shifts in America were eating away at afternoon newspapers' market share, with readers flocking to either morning papers or switching to nightly television news broadcasts.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1999/07/14/sun-setting-on-another-afternoon-newspaper/|last=Jones|first=Tim|title=Sun Setting On Another Afternoon Newspaper|date=1999-07-14|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|access-date=2017-03-31|archive-date=April 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170401143940/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1999-07-14/business/9907140121_1_central-newspapers-afternoon-papers-eugene-s-pulliam|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1992, the afternoon paper's circulation was 133,800.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/1993/06/20/they-hate-to-see-that-evnin-sun-go-down/|last=Imhoff|first=Ernest|title=They Hate To See That Ev'nin' Sun Go Down|date=1993-06-20|newspaper=The (Baltimore) Evening Sun|access-date=2017-03-31|archive-date=April 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170401060451/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1993-06-20/news/1993171127_1_evening-sun-read-the-sun-kevin-cowherd|url-status=live}}</ref> By mid-1995, ''The Evening Sun''{{'}}s readership—86,360—had been eclipsed by that of ''The Sun''—264,583.<ref name="auto1"/> ''The Evening Sun'' ceased publication on September 15, 1995.
===Daily=== After a period of roughly a year during which the paper's owners sometimes printed a two-section product, ''The Baltimore Sun'' now has three sections every weekday: News, Sports and alternating various business and features sections. On some days, comics and such features as the horoscope and TV listings are printed in the back of the Sports section.
After dropping the standalone business section in 2009, ''The Sun'' brought back a business section on Tuesdays and Sundays in 2010, with business pages occupying part of the news section on other days.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mondonewspapers.com/newspaper/baltimore-sun.html|title=Baltimore Sun—The No. 31 Newspaper in the USA|publisher=Mondo Code|access-date=May 28, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010134544/http://www.mondonewspapers.com/newspaper/baltimore-sun.html|archive-date=October 10, 2008|df=mdy-all}}</ref> Features sections debuting in 2010 included a Saturday "Home" section, a Thursday "Style" section and a Monday section called "Sunrise." The sports article written by Peter Schmuck is published only on weekdays.
===Sunday=== The ''Sunday Sun'' for many years was noted for a locally produced rotogravure Maryland pictorial magazine section, featuring works by such acclaimed photographers as A. Aubrey Bodine. The ''Sunday Sun'' dropped the Sunday ''Sun Magazine'' in 1996 and now only carries ''Parade'' magazine weekly. A quarterly version of the ''Sun Magazine''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thesunmag.com|title=Entertainment – Baltimore Sun|website=www.thesunmag.com}}</ref> was resurrected in September 2010, with stories that included a comparison of young local doctors, an interview with actress Julie Bowen and a feature on the homes of a former Baltimore anchorwoman. Newsroom managers plan to add online content on a more frequent basis.
===baltimoresun.com=== The company introduced its website in September 1996. A redesign of the site was unveiled in June 2009, capping a six-month period of record online traffic. Each month from January through June, an average of 3.5 million unique visitors combined to view 36.6 million web pages. ''Sun'' reporters and editors produce more than three dozen blogs on such subjects as technology, weather, education, politics, Baltimore crime, real estate, gardening, pets and parenting. Among the most popular are Dining@Large, which covers local restaurants; The Schmuck Stops Here, a Baltimore-centric sports blog written by Peter Schmuck; Z on TV, by media critic David Zurawik; and Midnight Sun, a nightlife blog. A ''Baltimore Sun'' iPhone app was released on September 14, 2010.
===''b''=== In 2008, the Baltimore Sun Media Group launched the daily paper ''b'' to target younger and more casual readers, ages 18 to 35. It was in tabloid format, with large graphics, creative design, and humor in focusing on entertainment, news, and sports. Its companion website was bthesite.com.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/|title=Entertainment|newspaper=The Baltimore Sun|accessdate=February 27, 2023|archive-date=February 27, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230227025834/https://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/|url-status=live}}</ref> The paper transitioned from daily to weekly publication in 2011.
''b'' ceased publication entirely in August 2015, more than a year after the Baltimore Sun Media Group acquired ''City Paper''.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Dance|first1=Scott|title=Free weekly b to cease publication Aug. 27|url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-bz-b-closing-20150812-story.html|access-date=16 October 2017|newspaper=The Baltimore Sun|publisher=Baltimore Sun Media Group|date=12 August 2015|archive-date=October 17, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171017043342/http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-bz-b-closing-20150812-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Contributors== ''The Baltimore Sun'' has won 16 Pulitzer Prizes. It also has been home to many notable journalists, reporters and essayists, including H.L. Mencken, who had a forty-plus-year association with the paper.
Other notable journalists, editors, photographers and cartoonists on the staff of ''The Baltimore Sun'' include:<ref>{{Cite news|title=Baltimore Sun wins Pulitzer Prize for coverage of Mayor Catherine Pugh's 'Healthy Holly' book scandal|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-ci-sun-pulitzer-win-20200504-krx2g2jx35bdnfjr7mzwantwlm-story.html|last=Marbella|first=Jean|date=2020-05-04|newspaper=The Baltimore Sun|access-date=2020-05-05|archive-date=May 5, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200505235840/https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-ci-sun-pulitzer-win-20200504-krx2g2jx35bdnfjr7mzwantwlm-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> {{div col|colwidth=20em}} *Rafael Alvarez *Linda Carter Brinson *Richard Ben Cramer *Russell Baker *A. Aubrey Bodine *John Carroll *Turner Catledge *Edmund Duffy *Thomas Edsall *John Filo *Jon Franklin *Jack Germond *James Grant *Mauritz A. Hallgren *David Hobby *Brit Hume *Gwen Ifill *Gerald W. Johnson *Kevin P. Kallaugher *Murray Kempton *Frank Kent *Tim Kurkjian *Laura Lippman *William Manchester *Jim McKay *Kay Mills *Robert Mottar *J. Reginald Murphy *Thomas O'Neill *Drew Pearson *Ken Rosenthal *Louis Rukeyser *Dan Shaughnessy *David Simon *Michael Sragow *John Steadman *Jules Witcover *William F. Zorzi {{div col end}}
==Facilities== [[Image:1baltimore sun north.jpg|thumb|''The Baltimore Sun''{{'s}} headquarters, from 1950 to 1988, on North Calvert Street]] [[Image:1baltimore sun south.jpg|thumb|The newspaper's headquarters, between 1988 and 2022, at "Sun Park" in Port Covington]] The first issue of ''The Sun'', a four-page tabloid, was printed at 21 Light Street in downtown Baltimore in the mid-1830s.
In 1851, the newspaper moved to a five-story structure at the corner of Baltimore and South streets. In 1904, in the Great Baltimore Fire, the structure, known as the "Iron Building", was destroyed.
In 1885, ''The Sun'' constructed a building for its Washington, D.C. bureau at 1317 F Street, NW, in Washington, D.C.<ref>''Washington Post'', April 9, 1903</ref> The building is on the National Register.
In 1906, operations were moved to Charles and Baltimore streets, where ''The Sun'' was written, published, and distributed for nearly 50 years. In 1950, operations were moved to a larger, modern plant at Calvert and Centre streets. In 1979, ground was broken for a new addition to the Calvert Street plant to house modern pressroom facilities. This facility commenced operations in 1981.
In April 1988, at a cost of $180 million, the company purchased {{convert|60|acre}} of land at Port Covington and built "Sun Park". The new building housed a satellite printing and packaging facility, and also is the newspaper's headquarters for its distribution operations.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/about/bal-about-baltsun,0,2763999.htmlstory|title=About The Baltimore Sun|newspaper=The Baltimore Sun|access-date=May 28, 2008|archive-date=October 8, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081008025909/http://baltimoresun.com/about/bal-about-baltsun,0,2763999.htmlstory|url-status=dead}}</ref> ''The Sun''{{'}}s printing facility at Sun Park had highly sophisticated computerized presses and automated insertion equipment in the packaging area. To keep pace with the speed of the presses and automated guided vehicles, intelligent electronic forklifts delivered the newsprint to the presses.
On January 30, 2022, ''The Baltimore Sun'' newspaper was printed for the last time at its Sun Park facility.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Final Sun Park press run {{!}} PHOTOS|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/photos/bal-md-sun-park-final-press-run-vg-20220131-kfgqlyhunze27jfwk7icgnnjde-photogallery.html|access-date=2022-02-04|newspaper=The Baltimore Sun|archive-date=February 4, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220204201506/https://www.baltimoresun.com/photos/bal-md-sun-park-final-press-run-vg-20220131-kfgqlyhunze27jfwk7icgnnjde-photogallery.html|url-status=live}}</ref> It was reported that ''The Sun's'' printing operations would be moved to a printing facility in Wilmington, Delaware.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Dinsmore|first=Christopher|title=Baltimore Sun Media proposes moving printing of newspapers to Delaware, laying off 100+ workers|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-bz-sun-printing-proposal-20211201-t25douer3zgwxpoz7fadcyt6dm-story.html|access-date=2022-02-04|newspaper=The Baltimore Sun|archive-date=February 4, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220204201504/https://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-bz-sun-printing-proposal-20211201-t25douer3zgwxpoz7fadcyt6dm-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
In December 2022, the ''Sun'' announced an agreement to move its offices to 200 St. Paul Place in downtown Baltimore, abandoning Sun Park altogether.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Yeager|first=Amanda|title=Baltimore Sun offices to return downtown in 2023|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-bz-sun-offices-relocation-downtown-20221229-szfdlqemlvaydby33udzf7qgxq-story.html|access-date=2022-12-29|newspaper=The Baltimore Sun|archive-date=June 21, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230621155414/https://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-bz-sun-offices-relocation-downtown-20221229-szfdlqemlvaydby33udzf7qgxq-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> After ''The Sun''{{'}}s purchase in 2024, its new owners signaled plans to move the newsroom to the Bagby Building at 509 S. Exeter St. in Little Italy, farther away from city offices and courts. Business and advertising staffers would move to the new office over the next year.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gunts |first1=Ed |title=Baltimore Sun Media's newsroom is moving to Little Italy |url=https://baltimorefishbowl.com/stories/baltimore-sun-medias-newsroom-is-moving-to-little-italy/ |access-date=October 24, 2024 |work=Baltimore Fishbowl |date=October 2, 2024}}</ref>
==Controversies== * The paper became embroiled in a controversy involving the former governor of Maryland, Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R). Ehrlich had issued an executive order on November 18, 2004, banning state executive branch employees from talking to ''Sun'' columnist Michael Olesker and reporter David Nitkin, claiming that their coverage had been unfair to the administration. This led ''The Sun'' to file a First Amendment lawsuit against the Ehrlich administration. The case was dismissed by a U.S. District Court judge, and ''The Sun'' appealed to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which upheld the dismissal.<ref>[https://archive.today/20120720080304/http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-md.circuit16feb16,0,1938753.story "Court Favors Ehrlich on Ban"], ''The Baltimore Sun'', February 16, 2006</ref> * Olesker was later forced to resign on January 4, 2006, in a separate incident in which he was accused of plagiarism. The ''Baltimore City Paper'' reported that several of his columns contained sentences or paragraphs that were extremely similar (although not identical) to material published in ''The Washington Post'', ''The New York Times'', and ''The Sun''.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/04/AR2006010402179.html |title=Sun Columnist Dismissed; Attribution Issues Cited |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=January 5, 2006 |access-date=September 14, 2010 |archive-date=November 4, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104172145/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/04/AR2006010402179.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Several of his colleagues were highly critical of the forced resignation, taking the view that the use of published boilerplate material was common newsroom practice, and that Olesker's alleged plagiarism was in line with that practice.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.citypaper.com/news/story.asp?id=11362 |title=On Background |work=Baltimore City Paper |date=January 18, 2006 |access-date=September 14, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110814155056/http://www2.citypaper.com/news/story.asp?id=11362 |archive-date=August 14, 2011 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> * Between 2006 and 2007, Thomas Andrews Drake, a former National Security Agency executive, allegedly leaked classified information to Siobhan Gorman, then a national security reporter for ''The Sun''. Drake was charged in April 2010 with 10 felony counts in relation to the leaks.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2010/04/15/ex-nsa-worker-from-md-charged-in-classified-leak-case/ |title=Ex-NSA worker from Md. charged in classified leak case |work=The Baltimore Sun |date=April 15, 2010 |access-date=September 14, 2010 |archive-date=August 26, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100826200125/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2010-04-15/news/bs-md-nsa-classified-leak-case-20100415_1_lucy-dalglish-shield-law-howard-county-man |url-status=live }}</ref> In June 2011, all 10 original charges were dropped, in what was widely viewed as an acknowledgement that the government had no valid case against the whistleblower, who eventually pleaded to one misdemeanor count for exceeding authorized use of a computer. Drake was the 2011 recipient of the Ridenhour Prize for Truth-Telling.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/opinion/editorial/bs-ed-0728-trump-baltimore-20190727-k6ac4yvnpvcczlaexdfglifada-story.html|title=Better to have a few rats than to be one (Baltimore Sun Editorial Board)|newspaper=The Baltimore Sun|date=July 27, 2017|access-date=July 28, 2019|archive-date=July 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190728010024/https://www.baltimoresun.com/opinion/editorial/bs-ed-0728-trump-baltimore-20190727-k6ac4yvnpvcczlaexdfglifada-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> * In 2018, in response to the European cookie law, the parent company of ''The Sun'' did not enable permission-requesting software, and many European visitors (and those from some non-European countries) were forced to visit the site via proxies, potentially muddling the website's analytics.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hern |first1=Alex |last2=Belam |first2=Martin |title=LA Times among US-based news sites blocking EU users due to GDPR |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/may/25/gdpr-us-based-news-websites-eu-internet-users-la-times |access-date=24 September 2021 |work=The Guardian |date=25 May 2018 |language=en |archive-date=March 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230324024110/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/may/25/gdpr-us-based-news-websites-eu-internet-users-la-times |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Duraj |first1=Maciej |title=How the Internet Is Being Restricted & Handicapped Based on Geographic Data |url=https://maciejduraj-75226.medium.com/how-the-internet-is-being-restricted-handicapped-based-on-geographic-data-232eea088f74 |access-date=24 September 2021 |work=Medium |date=4 June 2020 |language=en |archive-date=February 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230209081533/https://maciejduraj-75226.medium.com/how-the-internet-is-being-restricted-handicapped-based-on-geographic-data-232eea088f74 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author1=PennRobotics |title=It's been three years. Stop saying your European visitors are important to you |url=https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27854663 |website=Hacker News |access-date=24 September 2021 |date=16 July 2021 |archive-date=October 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221002025206/https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27854663 |url-status=live }}</ref> * On September 10, 2024, the ''Sun'' dismissed reporter Maddi O'Neill for raising questions on the newsroom's internal Slack channel about journalistic standards under that year's new ownership. O'Neill, a legal reporter who joined the paper that same year from ''The Daily Record'', was still in her nine-month probationary period and thus could be fired without cause. In a statement, the Baltimore Sun Guild called the firing a "cowardly" decision emblematic of "mismanagement" by the paper's new owners.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Shen |first1=Fern |title=Baltimore Sun fires reporter for raising questions internally about news coverage under David Smith's ownership |url=https://baltimorebrew.com/2024/09/12/baltimore-sun-fires-reporter-for-raising-questions-internally-about-news-coverage-under-david-smiths-ownership/ |access-date=12 September 2024 |work=Baltimore Brew |date=12 September 2024 |language=en-us}}</ref> The union later filed a federal complaint, saying O'Neill was fired for engaging in protected concerted activity.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Boteler |first1=Cody |title=Baltimore Sun Guild files labor complaint over reporter's firing |url=https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/community/local-news/sun-guild-oneill-fired-3QZSZ4YE2VG7NCUX4A4MJNBNTE/ |access-date=24 October 2024 |work=The Baltimore Banner |date=23 October 2024 |language=en}}</ref>
==Portrayal in ''The Wire''== ''The Baltimore Sun'' was featured in the American crime drama television series ''The Wire'' in 2008 (season 5), which was created by former ''Sun'' reporter David Simon.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Steiner | first1 = Linda | last2 = Guo | first2 = Jing | last3 = McCaffrey | first3 = Raymond | last4 = Hills | first4 = Paul | author-link1 = Linda Steiner | title = ''The Wire'' and repair of the journalistic paradigm | journal = Journalism | volume = 14 | issue = 6 | pages = 703–720 | doi = 10.1177/1464884912455901 | date = August 2012 | s2cid = 146157813 }}</ref>
Like many of the institutions featured in ''The Wire'', the ''Sun'' is portrayed as having many deeply dysfunctional qualities while also having very dedicated people on its staff. The season focuses on the role of the media in affecting political decisions in City Hall and the priorities of the Baltimore Police Department. Additionally, the show explores the business pressures of modern media through layoffs and buyouts occurring at the ''Sun'', on the orders of the Tribune Company, the ''Sun''{{'}}s corporate owner.
One storyline involves a troubled ''Sun'' reporter named Scott Templeton, and his escalating tendency to sensationalize and falsify stories. ''The Wire'' portrays the managing editors of the ''Sun'' as turning a blind eye to the protests of a concerned line editor, in the managing editors' zeal to win a Pulitzer Prize. The show suggests that the motivation for this institutional dysfunction is the business pressures of modern media, and working for a flagship newspaper in a major media market like ''The New York Times'' or ''The Washington Post'' is seen as the only way to avoid the cutbacks occurring at the ''Sun''.
Season 5 was ''The Wire''{{'}}s last. The finale episode, "-30-", features a montage at the end portraying the ultimate fate of the major characters. It shows Templeton at Columbia University with the senior editors of the fictional ''Sun'', accepting the Pulitzer Prize, with no mention being made as to the aftermath of Templeton's career. Alma Gutierrez is shown being exiled to the Carroll County bureau past the suburbs.
==News partnership== In September 2008, ''The Baltimore Sun'' became the newspaper partner of station WJZ-TV, owned and operated by CBS; the partnership involves sharing content and story leads, and teaming up on stories. WJZ promoted ''Baltimore Sun'' stories in its news broadcasts. ''The Sun'' promoted WJZ's stories and weather team on its pages.
Since the 2024 purchase led by Sinclair chairman David Smith, the paper has partnered with Sinclair flagship WBFF-TV. Their respective websites republish each other's stories and articles from WBFF-TV and other Sinclair outlets appear in the paper. This was a sticking point with the newspaper's union, since the articles sometimes did not meet The Sun's journalistic standards.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Boteler |first1=Cody |title=Sun union says ethics 'tossed aside' after sale, demands end to Fox45 stories |url=https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/community/local-news/baltimore-sun-union-david-smith-ethics-4LNE3HJ5HRAS7PLSKDY3IL52C4/ |access-date=31 January 2025 |work=The Baltimore Banner |date=10 June 2024 |language=en}}</ref>
==See also== {{Portal|Maryland|Journalism}} * :Category:The Baltimore Sun people * List of newspapers in Maryland * List of newspapers in the United States by circulation * Media in Baltimore
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
==Further reading== * {{cite book |editor-first1=Frederic B. |editor-last1=Hill |editor-first2=Stephens |editor-last2=Broening |title=The Life of Kings: The Baltimore Sun and the Golden Age of the American Newspaper |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers |location=Lanham |date=2016-07-25 |isbn=978-1-4422-6256-0}} * {{cite book |editor1=Gerald W. Johnson |editor2=H. L. Mencken |title=The Sunpapers of Baltimore |edition=1st |publisher=Knopf |location=New York |date=1937 |lccn=37009111}} * {{cite book |first1=John C. |last1=Merrill |first2=Harold A. |last2=Fisher |title=The World's Great Dailies: Profiles of Fifty Newspapers |year=1980 |pages=73–80}}
==External links== {{External links|section|date=January 2019}} {{Commons category}} * {{Official website|1=http://www.baltimoresun.com/}} * {{Newseum front page|MD_TS}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20090323055010/http://aok.lib.umbc.edu/specoll/baltimoresun.php ''Baltimore Sun'' Archives at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County] * [https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/baltsun ''Baltimore Sun'' online archives (1837 to present)] ({{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081012032637/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/baltsun/ |date=October 12, 2008 }})
{{PulitzerPrize PublicService 1926–1950}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baltimore Sun}} Category:1837 establishments in Maryland Category:Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2008 Category:Newspapers established in 1837 Category:Newspapers published in Baltimore Category:Newspapers published in Maryland Category:Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting winners Category:Pulitzer Prize for Public Service winners Category:Pulitzer Prize–winning newspapers