1. Joanne Pan
ENGL384
Professor Rudacille
April 9, 2015
April 9, 2015
BALTIMORE’S NEW VOICE
Veteran journalistFern Shen visits UMBCand talksaboutBaltimoreBrew and becoming a
entrepreneurialjournalistto students.
VeteranjournalistFernShenhashad a storiedcareer,workingforthe Baltimore EveningSunandthe
WashingtonPost.Whennewspapersstarteddownsizing,smallernewspapersdisappearedandShen
soonrecognizedaneedforbettercoverage of local news.Shen’sgoal withBaltimore Brew istohave
accountabilityjournalismforBaltimore andthe surroundingregion.
Part of the Brew’sjobisto “Give voice to the voiceless,”saysShen.She notesthatinthe pastmany of
the breakingstoriescoveredbybiggernewspaperswere firstcoveredbythe Brew.
One of the biggeststoriesthe Brewhascoveredrecentlyinvolvedahigh-rankingclergymemberanda
cyclistat a hit andrun, where the cyclistlaterdiedof injuries.Spanningatwoweekperiodandintoa
fewmonths,the storywaspickedupby larger newspapers,includingthe New YorkTimesandthe
Baltimore Sun.
By coveringlocal news,the Brewisable to“breakstoriesandmake a splash,”saysShen.Althoughthe
Brewitself issmall-thereare onlythree tofourreportersincludingShen,plusanITworkerwhenthe site
crashes-worksforthe Brew,buthave coveredmyriadtopics.Shen’spointsreinforcedthe ideathatby
stayingsmall andstayinglocal,newswouldbe coveredinamore thoroughmannerthanif a large news
organizationhaddone the same reporting.
“Stay independentandstickwithit,”saysShen.