"People will harbor those resentments over the way Marc was treated, but if they have those issues, it's not with me," he said. "I'm going to continue - and I hope to expand - on a strong midday tradition at WYPR."
From 1995 until its cancellation in 1999, Rodricks hosted Rodricks For Breakfast, a talk show that aired Sunday mornings on WMAR-TV. From 1980 until 1993, he was a regular commentator on WBAL-TV and hosted nighttime and Saturday morning shows on WBAL Radio. In 2005, he teamed with Chip Franklin to host a show on WBAL Radio, but the arrangement fell apart because of personality clashes between the two.
Rodricks said he'll try to keep his two roles at The Sun and WYPR "as separate as possible."
Though it's common for newspaper columnists and sports writers to have radio shows, Bob Steele, the Nelson Poynter Scholar for Journalism Values at the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla., said working for competing media organizations could lead to conflict.
"Given his dual role, he has divided loyalties," Steele said. "The divided loyalties is a factor that could create tension."
Sun Editor Tim Franklin called the hiring of Rodricks "a win for WYPR and The Sun." He said Rodricks could use his radio time to explore a wide range of topics - including discussions of local media and The Sun.
"The station benefits from having on its air one of the most respected and high-profile journalists in Maryland," he said. "The Sun benefits because this will showcase Dan's considerable talents for WYPR's politically and culturally engaged audience."
Reaction to the hiring of Rodricks was mixed.
Maria Allwine, who has led the protests at WYPR, said she will continue protesting today.
"Dan Rodricks is not Marc Steiner," she said. "The community is still enraged over the firing of Marc Steiner."
But Doreen Bolger, a WYPR community advisory board member, said Rodricks was a good choice.
"His background in journalism, and more importantly, his civic sensibility, tells me he'll use the show as an opportunity and a forum to address the issues meaningful to us in Baltimore and Maryland," she said.
jill.rosen@baltsun.com
meredith.cohn@baltsun.com
