Former Baltimore Sun Workers Get New Outlet

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)

“Looking for work is more dispiriting even than dating,” writes John E. McIntyre. “You put yourself forward to be judged, and you are not only found wanting but often simply ignored.” McIntyre, former chief copy editor at the Baltimore Sun, was one of 60 people – including a third of the newsroom staff – abruptly laid off in the spring of 2009. Now the stories and memories of McIntyre and his former colleagues at the Sun – members of Newspaper Guild Local 32035 -- are available online at Telling Our Stories: The Days of the Baltimore Sun. The website grew from a fellowship project conceived and funded by the Writers Guild of America, East Foundation, which has a mission of perpetuating the art and craft of storytelling. “Like other WGAE Foundation projects, this one gave the laid-off Sun employees an opportunity to process a difficult experience through creative work,” says the website. The Sun workers' creativity is on view in sections that mirror a traditional newspaper’s format, including Metro – where Tyeesha Dixon writes about “My dream job cut short” – and Business, where Charles Weiss describes “Death by a thousand cuts.” There’s also an arts section with photos, comics and even a sports section. The site has attracted the support and interest of notables like director Barry Levinson, a Baltimore native, The Wire producer David Simon (a former Sun reporter) and television critic David Bianculli. “For years we had a wonderful community of writers on The Sun’s pages and managed to host a lively and diverse paper that really did, I think, play a meaningful role in the public life of the region” writes Franz Schneiderman a former editor. Now, through this site, they still can. - Lizet Ramirez, Union Summer intern