New Baltimore Sun owner and Sinclair Broadcast Group Executive Chairman David Smith has been quietly involved in a lawsuit accusing Baltimore City Public Schools of defrauding taxpayers, documents show. Smith has had several discussions with the plaintiffs and their attorneys about the suit and is behind a corporation paying the plaintiff’s legal fees, according to documents obtained by The Baltimore Banner. All the while, Baltimore’s WBFF, Sinclair’s flagship station, has covered the case extensively without disclosing Smith’s role. A WBFF spokesperson said that WBFF reporters and staff did not know of Smith’s involvement in the lawsuit, and that the station will add disclosure to its stories. (Doug Wells/AP)
The news that David D. Smith, the executive chairman of the conservative Sinclair Broadcast Group, had bought The Sun has generated alarm inside and outside the newsroom.
The media company’s executive chairman said he acquired Baltimore Sun Media from the investment firm Alden Global Capital in a private deal reached last Friday. He did not disclose how much he paid in the agreement. Smith bought the paper with his own assets independently of Sinclair. He said, however, that there could be partnerships between the two brands in the future. He will remain the executive chairman at Sinclair.