Ken Paulson, the editor of USA Today who has served with Franklin on the board of visitors at the University of Maryland journalism school, said, "These have been tough years for the newspaper business and Tim and I have often compared notes, and yet no matter how many cuts he had to deal with, the journalism always came first. He was determined to maintain the quality of The Baltimore Sun day in and day out."
As editor, Franklin devoted resources to national stories such as the 2004 election, Hurricane Katrina and the shootings at Virginia Tech. The paper earned two National Headliner awards this year and was a Pulitzer finalist last year. Other national honors included a George Polk award and a Loeb award.
Franklin took on Ehrlich after he had banned his staff from talking to a Sun reporter and columnist whose work he didn't like. The paper sued in federal court, eventually losing its case. But Franklin never flinched in backing his staff, observers said.
