by Joe Siegel

NLGJA: the National Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists issued a statement regarding defamatory language in a recent Baltimore Sun editorial.

The statement released on June 17 stated: “NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists agrees with the Baltimore Sun Guild in their call on co-owner Armstrong Williams to return to the ethical standards and practices employed by the paper prior to its recent acquisition. A free press is strongest when it is fair and accurate in its coverage.”

The May 8 Sun editorial is entitled, “The rise of transgenderism.”

NLGJA said Williams used “discriminatory and outdated language in reference to transgender people. While NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists typically refrains from commenting on opinion pieces, Williams is not just a contributor. He is a co-owner and leader of the paper, and his language sets an understanding that trans voices are unwelcome in the Sun. Will a trans journalist feel welcome at a paper owned by someone who has likened their existence to a cancer? Can a trans citizen of Baltimore believe their participation in the Sun’s coverage will be welcomed?”

The statement continued, “The people of Baltimore deserve a paper that fully represents their city and that can only happen with a diverse and representative newsroom: one that includes the voices and perspectives of trans people.”

Before this latest controversy at the Baltimore Sun, Kevin Naff, editor of the D.C.-based Washington Blade, is a former employee of the Sun and penned his own editorial in the Blade on the newspaper’s new conservative direction.

Naff’s January 16 column noted the Sun was sold to David Smith, chair of Sinclair Broadcasting, whose television stations skews their programming to a right-wing audience.

“Sinclair, which owns more than 200 TV stations around the country, has been criticized for requiring local stations to air pro-Trump conservative programs and editorials,” Naff wrote. “What’s worse, Smith has a business partner in the deal: Armstrong Williams, a conservative commentator who hosts a syndicated show on Sinclair affiliates. Williams has attacked Georgia officials who are prosecuting Donald Trump; the New York Times reported that Williams paid for Justice Clarence Thomas’s wedding reception. His Twitter feed is filled with paranoid screeds against mainstream media. He has accused schools of ‘sexualizing’ children by teaching LGBTQ topics. Williams once served as an adviser to GOP presidential candidate Ben Carson, who famously compared homosexuality to beastiality.”

Naff believes the quality of the Baltimore Sun will continue to deteriorate over time.

“The Sun has been on a slow decline for years. I worked there from 1996-2000, launching the paper’s website. It was an exciting time, and I was grateful to work with Pulitzer-winning editors, accomplished business executives, and creative entrepreneurs. But those days are sadly gone and while some are spinning this news as a positive development that returns the paper to local ownership, we know this means the Sun will become a vessel for MAGA conspiracy theories and unfounded attacks on Maryland’s Democratic politicians. I have subscribed to the Sun my entire adult life. Until today. My subscription is now canceled.”

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Volume 26
Issue 4