David Zurawik says Alden's newspaper strategy is 'a threat to democracy'

Reliable Sources

CNN

News

3.4 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 7 July 2022

⏱️ 45 minutes

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Summary

David Zurawik, a 32-year veteran of the Baltimore Sun, opens up about why he left the newspaper last year. He says he sensed pressure to tone down some of his politically opinionated columns and lacked confidence in hedge fund Alden Global Capital's ownership of the paper. Zurawik, now a CNN media analyst, talks about the state of local news; the launch of a nonprofit news outlet called The Baltimore Banner; and the House's hearings about January 6. He says it is vital to uphold the news media's "public service" mission.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	It's one of the most interesting local news wars in the United States right now.
0:07.2	The Baltimore Sun newspaper versus the upstart Baltimore Banner website.
0:13.3	Who is going to prevail?
0:15.8	Will there be lessons from Baltimore for other cities and regions?
0:20.3	Those are a couple of the questions for this week's Reliable Sources podcast.
0:24.2	So let's cue the music.
0:30.8	I'm Brian Stelter and this weekly podcast is our chance to go more in-depth with
0:36.4	media leaders and newsmakers talking about how the news gets made.
0:40.8	A recent headline in the New York Times says it all about Baltimore.
0:44.7	It says is Baltimore big enough for the two of them.
0:47.7	The story says quote the internet's pretty much killed local news wars.
0:51.6	But the Baltimore Banner a non-profit startup is trying to change that by
0:56.0	taking on the Baltimore Sun.
0:58.8	Some listeners might know I grew up in Maryland.
1:01.3	I went to school right near Baltimore.
1:03.4	I've always been a reader and a fan of the Baltimore Sun.
1:07.0	But like a lot of people I've seen it decline over the years.
1:10.3	It has been shrinking for years and years partly due to corporate ownership.
1:14.6	And it turns out that's one of the reasons why David Zerowick left the Sun last summer.
1:20.7	He was a media critic for the Sun and a writer for the paper for 32 years.
1:27.7	But he decided to retire from the paper without exactly saying why last summer.
1:33.8	And now he's a CNN media analyst and a professor at Galtor College.
	...

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