Kirby Delauter Doesn’t Want News Outlets to Use His Name Without Permission

Frederick County Council member Kirby Delauter threatened the Frederick News-Post with legal action if it contacted him or printed his name without his permission. “Use my name again unauthorized and you’ll be paying for an Attorney,” Delauter wrote in a Facebook tirade directed at News-Post reporter Bethany Rodgers. (Here’s a screenshot of the exchange.)

Rodgers apparently inconvenienced Kirby Delauter by reporting in a January 3 article that he “has joined [fellow Councilmember Billy] Shreve in concern over parking for elected officials.”

Shreve told the paper he hadn’t seen Kirby Delauter‘s post “but I think The News-Post is extremely biased and someone should sue them.” News-Post Managing Editor Terry Headlee told the paper Kirby Delauter‘s theory of press engagement “shows an astonishing lack of understanding of the role of a public servant.”

Andrew Beaujon

Senior editor

Andrew Beaujon joined Washingtonian in late 2014. He was previously the news editor and lead media reporter for the Poynter Institute, arts editor for the now completely vanished TBD.com, and managing editor of Washington City Paper. He lives in Del Ray.