A public radio reporter previously barred from attending weekly press conferences held by Baltimore’s mayor returned to covering the meetings Wednesday.
Burns
The office of Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake barred WYPR reporter P. Kenneth Burns from the meetings in October in a letter sent to the station. The office accused Burns of being physically and verbally threatening to the mayor and her staff throughout his three years covering City Hall.
Burns denied the charges and said he had received no verbal or written warning from Rawlings-Blake’s staff. The mayor’s office did not respond to a Public Information Act request from a Baltimore Fox News affiliate, which sought documentation of Burns’ alleged behavior.
Rawlings-Blake left office this week as new mayor Catherine Pugh assumed the post Tuesday. Anthony McCarthy, who ran communications for Rawlings-Blake and holds the same position with Pugh’s office, had told Current that the ban on Burns would be lifted at the start of Pugh’s term.
At Pugh’s press conference Wednesday, Burns returned to his usual seat near the front of the room.
@PKBNews back at mayoral briefings. Ban by previous mayor kept him away for weeks. pic.twitter.com/0uIxIwb2dv
— Paul McGrew (@McGrewFox45) December 7, 2016