YINZ/YIDZ

Since that posting the other day about the Baltimore Jewish Times, I've been reading through their blogs.

This morning I caught an entry from Executive Editor Phil Jacobs about education, specifically about the affordability of Jewish education. He makes that case that Baltimore Jews should use public schools for secular studies, allowing the Jewish schools to cut costs by providing only half-day Jewish studies:

Click to read more ...

The Baltimore Sun reported last week that the city is cutting the Baltimore Jewish Times some slack on a loan:

"A deal, approved unanimously by the city's Board of Estimates, allows the weekly newspaper to suspend principal payments on a $150,000 relocation loan for the next two years. While it saves the paper from having to lay off another staff member, the move raises questions about how news outlets objectively cover cities that have extended financial help."

Later that day, Jewish Times Executive Editor Phil Jacobs blogged about the story later in the day, saying it "singled out" the Jewish paper, one of many publications in a media group called Alter Communications:

"How could any publication not know that when there is a question of economy and the need for someone to blame, just dial up the Jewish community. It’s not hard to stir up the hate that’s out there. It’s lazy and it’s easy. That’s why I wonder why it wasn’t Alter Communications that was reported on, it was the Jewish Times. Good reporters get good information. Doing it on the cheap, results in thin information.  The question should have been asked, why is the Jewish newspaper based not in the center of its circulation, but instead in the city?"

The story revolves around a loan the paper took from the city in 2002 to help it relocate back to the city.

From the article:

"The city initially extended the loan to the paper to lure it back from Owings Mills. The money, lent at a 3 percent interest rate, was intended to cover relocation costs. The paper has repaid $40,000 in principal, and will continue its weekly interest payments."

Response from Jacob's blog:

"We could have just as easily found a nice, comfortable home in Pikesville in the center of our readership, but we didn’t. And we didn’t because the company for generations has made a commitment to the City of Baltimore. We believe in Baltimore. The Jewish Times pumped its share of tax money into the community. We employ people in the city."