It’s no secret that David Smith, who owns The Baltimore Sun, has conservative political views and that his partner, Armstrong Williams, sees the world through a simplistic Sunday school lesson framework. For all of that, today’s Baltimore Sun is a superior product than existed before those who created The Baltimore Banner made an unsuccessful attempt to acquire The Sun from its Tribune/Alden Global Capital owners. It is by no means a great news provider; nor is The Banner.

As a subscriber from Day 1 to The Banner, I often am disappointed by what it sends me. Still, we are lucky to have two competing, if sometimes mediocre, serious news outlets. Few cities have that. I’m not afraid to read or ignore Sun opinions with which I disagree. I wish you ran more local opinions and fewer boosterish stories about the city, the mayor and the governor. I admire The Sun for its hyperlocal focus on news, including bad news about our city and its often failing government.

As a company that competes with The Sun for readers, advertisers and public acceptance, The Banner’s story about The Sun’s loss of circulation and staff turnover (One year in, Baltimore Sun’s new owner faces losses in readership and staff, March 7, 2025) bordered on the unethical. Where was/is the comparable data available for your own enterprise? Can one go to your website and easily find the number of paid subscribers, year-over-year data on monthly website visits and your company’s revenues and losses? Are you not organized under the tax laws governing charities?

Do reporters and editors sometimes come and go at The Banner, perhaps yearning for the big-time in D.C., Philly or New York? Does your management sometimes disagree with your unions? Oh, your journalists don’t have a union.

Bill Hamilton, Bolton Hill