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The eyes of the world were on Baltimore yesterday, during the tense armed standoff at Johns Hopkins Hospital that left the gunman and his mother dead and one doctor wounded. And our local media, particularly Sun staffer Justin Fenton and the staff at WBAL, shined.
Less than an hour after Paul Warren Pardus shot Dr. David B. Cohen, apparently in frustration over his mother's condition, both Fenton and WBAL's Jennifer Franciotti and Dave Collins were on the scene. Fenton was a tweet machine, passing along crucial information as it came to him, whether through official sources, his own observations, or overheard chatter on police scanners and conversations. His dozens of tweets in the hours after the shooting providing the most accurate real-time account of what was happening. Fenton was interviewed on CNN fairly early in the ordeal and became the outlet's best source for accurate info.
As The Sun's Dave Zurawik details today on his excellent blog, Z on TV, WBAL really shined among local outlets, with Franciotti breaking news of the gunman's death before police announced it. And CNN, apparently because of its affiliation with WBAL and WMAR provided excellent footage and national coverage.
During a dark and disturbing day in Baltimore, it was great to see our local media on top of the situation.
[photo: Justin Fenton for The Sun]
