Excellent story about The Baltimore Sun

City Paper reporter John Barry does an excellent job in this accurate portrayal of The Sun. With interviews from breaking news reporters and veterans on their way out, coverage of Sam Zell's visit and the recent protest, and a clear description of the ever-emptying space on Calvert Street, Barry clearly spent quite a bit of time looking at the situation.

Read the article here: http://www.citypaper.com/news/story.asp?id=16177

It is a shame that CEO Zell has little grasp of the magnitude of journalistic expertise lost with the departure of Sun reporters Doug Donovan, John Woestendiek, John Fritze, Jonathan Bor and so many others. I remember Jonathan Bor's visible disappointment as I sat with him during Zell's visit. An analyst at The Sun took Jim Collins' book "Good To Great" to Zell after the meeting and asked if he had read it. If you haven't read it, the message of the book is that the worst strategy during a time of industry-wide struggle is to cut critical jobs (like journalists). Zell had the nerve to say, "Read it? I live by it."

Sure, Sam.