Newspapers, TV station battle over war support

A war of words has broken out between the Baltimore Sun and Baltimore
TV station WBFF after the newspaper reported the station management’s
decision to order its news anchors to read a statement expressing the
station’s support for President Bush following the Sept. 11 attacks. Members
of the news staff later complained to the newspaper that the order
compromised their credibility. Early this week, station manager Bill
Fanshawe, during an on-air editorial, stood before images of the American
flag and the Statue of Liberty as he castigated the newspaper. “We question
why The Baltimore Sun has appointed themselves as the media watchdog
for the coverage of this tragic event,” he said. Later Fanshawe told a
reporter for the paper: “The Sun is the direct competitor of TV and
radio stations in this marketplace. I would use the analogy that GM doesn’t
critique the cars put out by Ford.”