Does the governor of Maryland have the power to order his employees not to talk to certain media outlets? The Baltimore Sun claims that is unconstitutional, and is suing to force Governor Robert Ehrlich to order his employees to speak to two of the newspaper's reporters.

The feud stems from The Sun's objection to the governor's plan to sell as much as 3,000 acres of state lands. Whether through zealousness or shoddy journalism, the Sun displayed on its front page a map of all of the protected land in Maryland, rather than just the 3,000 acres under consideration, suggesting Ehrlich was considering selling all of it. Additionally, a Sun reporter claimed that Ehrlich's press aide struggled to "keep a straight face" defending the governor's policies at a hearing. The reporter, as it turned out, never attended the hearing. In response to all this, Ehrlich ordered his press officers not to speak with the largest newspaper in his state.

One can object to the governor of a state employing so many tax-funded spin-doctors, but that's not what this case is about. It's hard to find--even through a deconstructionist interpretation--any Constitutional prohibitions against a governor of a state governing the people who work for him.

Governor Ehrlich not only has the right to avoid a partisan newspaper that has printed lies about his policies, but he is right to do so. It is the plaintiff, rather than the defendant, that has abused the First Amendment in this case.

Good post, although I wouldn't say everyone Ehrlich wants to shun the Sun is a mere PR lackey without any legitimate function within the administration beyond blabbing to the press.

That said Ehrlich is kinda acting silly to engage in this tactic: it never works.

Ehrlich should chide the media when it gets it wrong and is biased, but should praise thorough balanced reporting where it does exist, perhaps in the smaller non-Sun papers with Annapolis bureaus.

Perhaps, however, columnists like Michael Olesker should be given fewer credentials and access than say the Annapolis bureau chief b/c whereas the bureau chief is trying to report a story in the news pages, liberal columnists are PAID to have a partisan ax to grind.