Baltimore Sun reporter Colin Campbell went viral with a photo of himself at a Maryland COVID-19 testing site hefting a makeshift cardboard sign with his phone number and affiliation — an oversized calling card tailor made for social distance reporting.
Then he was furloughed.
Campbell’s interviewing ingenuity, captured by Sun photographer Jerry Jackson last week and retweeted by Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski, illustrates how journalists are finding their way to the front lines of the pandemic to tell people’s stories.
His week of unpaid leave is the result of a union vote to avoid layoffs. It’s a stark reminder of the stresses facing the industry, made only worse by the outbreak. The strains on the Sun have prompted a #SaveOurSun campaign, led by the Baltimore Sun Guild, to sell the newspaper and make it a locally-owned nonprofit.
“I’m on unpaid furlough from The Sun this week, thanks to a particularly dastardly combination of corporate greed and the ongoing COVID-19 recession,” he tweeted Sunday. He encouraged followers to write to Terry Jimenez, the CEO of the Sun’s parent company, Tribune Publishing.
Campbell says he’s not one to gripe about his current unpaid status. He has friends who have lost jobs temporarily or permanently. “So I don’t want to complain, but it is kind of frustrating to see that what people want at this time more than anything is information. And to put people whose job it is to go out and get it on ice is frustrating.”
We interviewed Campbell this week about his street reporting and his furlough.
Let’s talk first about what initially caught our attention, which was your signboard. What prompted that and what were you working on?
Campbell: First of all I want to give credit where credit is due. We completely stole that sign idea. It was stolen from a good friend of mine, Ellie Silverman, who is a reporter at the Philly Inquirer…
My editor said okay, today [May 21] is the first day of testing for folks who are asymptomatic and we’d like to try to do a scene piece on what that looks like.
We thought maybe a smart way to do this would be to have folks call us. The concern always tends to be HIPAA related: “Oh we don’t want you taking pictures, we don’t want you bothering people, they’re patients, they’re not basically served up for interviews.” And we understand that, we don’t want to infringe on anybody’s privacy.
So we thought, well, maybe if we just carry a sign, the people who want to reach out will reach out. Then, by definition, we won’t be infringing on anyone’s privacy because they’re calling us. And also, obviously, it has the benefit of keeping us distanced from everybody else…
The funny thing was that a bunch of them took my picture with the sign so that they could get my phone number and call me after they got their test. So there’s about 50 Baltimore Countians out there with various versions of that photo.
So how many reached out to you?
Campbell: I had a handful call me. Some while I was still out there walking around with a sign, and I had to answer and say, ‘Hey, quickly, is it okay if I call you back in a half hour, 45 minutes when I’m back in front of my computer?’ But I did get a handful of folks text me and a handful of folks called me…
It’s tough to tell your editors, ‘Well, I came back with no interviews, and I’m entirely subject to the whim of people calling me and getting them on the phone.’ So it was a little bit tougher and took a little bit longer that way. But you do what you’ve got to do to stay safe.
Was there any hostility directed your way?
Campbell: Not really. I think the folks who want to get themselves tested probably are in the group generally that believes in the science and are worried and concerned about this. I’ve certainly seen the videos of reporters being yelled at and the like. But people who didn’t want to be interviewed basically just shook their heads or ignored me, and I’m used to that.
How did you feel then when you were furloughed?
Campbell: There’re people who are really, really suffering and on my furlough weeks, if and when the check comes through, I will be eligible for unemployment… I’m not in any way suffering like some of my friends who are musicians or in other types of jobs that are going away, either temporarily or permanently.
So I don’t want to complain, but it is kind of frustrating to see that what people want at this time more than anything is information. And to put people whose job it is to go out and get it on ice is frustrating.
Yet this leaves the burden of coverage to a much smaller group of people. Aren’t you going to have that burden when you’re back at work and somebody else is on furlough?
Campbell: Yeah, and I’m not the first round of folks. I think we’re in week two or three of furloughs now. And the funny thing is, I can tell you anecdotally, we’re writing more stories. I cannot more highly praise the crew that I work with…
I think that the Pulitzer was incredibly deserved and the people on that staff work harder than anybody. And I’ve seen people walk out the door, and our staff just becomes smaller and smaller, and with furloughs, pay cuts, buyouts, they still keep punching in somehow, some way. We still keep putting out a killer paper. I’m really proud to be on that staff.
You wrote a pointed tweet encouraging people to write to the company CEO. What made you do that and do you worry about repercussions?
Campbell: If people value what we do, they should speak up. It’s more than about me, it’s the fact that (Sun crime reporter) Justin Fenton is on furlough right now. When something’s happening in Baltimore crime-wise, or emergency-wise, if something’s going on, he is one of the first accounts everybody in the city checks on Twitter….
We’ve been told that if we even correct a typo, or pass on a tip, we could jeopardize our unemployment because it counts as working, and we’d be working for a company that is not paying us. And so we’re trying to not do that, and that’s got to be, A, eating him alive and, B, just really driving readers crazy when they think they have heard of something going on and there’s not that go-to person to check it or to find out more.
So what’s the point of being in a union if you’re not going to push for change and push for better working conditions. That’s the whole point, right?
What do you worry about most right now?
Campbell: I’m trying to unplug and trying to not worry while at home. It’s unpaid, so it’s not vacation. But it’s rare that even when we’re on vacation that journalists unplug, really stop checking email, and really stop subjecting to Twitter. And I’m trying to just do that. I just got engaged. My fiancee and I got engaged right at the beginning of quarantine… So I’m really trying to keep it all in perspective and remember that while it is a career to us and our passion and vocation, you know that it is a job. And that there are more important things in life, and so trying to keep all that in mind.
How are you taking care of yourself?
Campbell: Well, right now the oven is set at 325 and biscuits are two minutes away from being done. So I’m about to go enjoy those. And, yeah, I don’t know, I might go on a run or something this week. That would be a good thing, I guess. I’m trying to figure out how to fill up a completely empty week and not drive my fiancee crazy, so suggestions for hobbies and other entertainment are welcome.