Gregory Kane Update

I wrote earlier about Gregory Kane and his employer, the Baltimore Sun. Here is a response from Greg to Ron Smith, the radio show host whose program from which Kane was barred.

Gregory Kane’s Response to the Sun Situation
Thursday, July 21, 2005 – Email from Gregory Kane

Ron: Please read this on the air and post it online. I assure you that neither Tim Franklin nor Steve Sullivan has a gun to my head as I write this.

Here’s the situation about my not appearing on either your show or the other talk shows.

Last week Sullivan came to me and the first thing he did was ask a question, not issue an order not to appear on your show. The question was “Are you getting paid to appear on Ron Smith’s show?” I said I wasn’t. He then told me that Tim was asking all Sun journalists not to appear on the show for the reasons already made public, specifically the ad hominem personal attacks by some WBAL talk show hosts on specific Sun staff members.

I immediately told Sullivan, without hesitation, that I would agree not to appear on the show. Sullivan then said that if WBAL had been paying me, I could continue doing the show.

Here’s why I agreed, and believe me it wasn’t because I wasn’t being paid. There are some things in life where money isn’t an issue, and doing your show was one of them. It was a great way to spend one hour every two weeks, and payment for two hours a month would have seemed a bit ridiculous. The juice wouldn’t have been worth the squeeze for either WBAL or me.

But I agreed because Sullivan made it clear this applied to ALL Sun journalists, not just me. If it did apply only to me, I’d have a problem with it. If this applied to all Sun journalists with me as the lone exception, I’d have a problem with that too. That would have been a classic double standard, and I hate double standards even when I benefit from them. So that’s why I agreed – willingly, voluntarily – with Franklin’s request.

Sullivan also said the decision may be only temporary, pending discussions with higher ups at WBAL. I sure hope that’s true. I’d like to get back to our bi-weekly schedule, even if it means I’ll have to miss an occasional high school wrestling meet!

It was a great ride being on your show. I hope things work out for the best so that we can saddle up again.

Greg Kane

Kane is a stand-up guy. This letter is well written and he shows how fair he is because he said that if it applies to everyone he can live with that. He could not agree if it only applied to him or if applied to everyone but him. That is the idea of fair. This is the kind of fairness you do not find on the left. It is only fair if it applies to everyone but them. Anyway, I think Kane was lied to. The Sun specifically targeted him. They did not apply it to all other reporters and they did not apply it to the entire schedule of shows on WBAL. They applied it only to Kane and Ron Smith’s show. How do I know that? This is what Ron Smith says the conversation severing the ties included:

What really sets me off is that during the phone call informing Jeff Beauchamp of the decision to muzzle Kane, the executive who called suggested we end the relationship quietly, perhaps allowing some Sun employees to appear, say, on Dave Durian’s morning show because it’s “more apolitical.”

If the Sun wanted this to apply to everyone, why were they suggesting that this (Kane/WBAL) relationship end quietly but they would like Sun employees to go on another show that is less political (or a more accurate reflection of their words, without politics).

For a paper named the Sun, they are not very bright.

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