Boston Globe Buys Lunch for Baltimore Sun Newsroom

The staff of the Baltimore Sun has not had much rest over the past few days since riots erupted in their city over the death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man who died while in police custody. If any big-city daily can empathize, it’s the Boston Globe, which didn’t get any sleep in April 2013 while covering the Boston Marathon bombings. So lunch today at the Sun is on the Globe, the Sun’s assistant managing editor, Pete Sweigard, writes on Twitter.

For the Globe, the lunch order is a way of paying it forward to another beleaguered newsroom. During its 2013 marathon coverage, the Chicago Tribune sent pizzas to the Globe. Today’s lunch at the Sun might be from by Iggie’s, a Baltimore pizzeria recommended by former Sun reporter and current Globie Annie Linskey.

UPDATE: Here’s the email the Sun’s executive editor, Trif Alatzas, sent around when informing the paper’s staff of the lunch donation:

Our friends from The Boston Globe are sending us lunch today to support the terrific work that you’re all doing. Said Editor Brian McGrory: “We’re looking on from here in deep admiration and empathy for what your newsroom is doing. You’re really doing extraordinary work. Our people would like to send your people some sort of gesture of support.”

UPDATE, 6:04 PM: The Globe’s lunch order almost hit a snag when Iggie’s, which is three blocks from the Sun’s office, stayed closed with much of downtown Baltimore. But Poynter’s Kristen Hare reports the Sun eventually got some pies from nearby Viccino Jay’s Italian Gourmet.

Benjamin Freed

Staff Writer

Benjamin Freed joined Washingtonian in August 2013 and covers politics, business, and media. He was previously the editor of DCist and has also written for Washington City Paper, the New York Times, the New Republic, Slate, and BuzzFeed. He lives in Adams Morgan.