Baltimore Jewish Times

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The Baltimore Jewish Times is a subscription-based weekly community newspaper serving the Jewish community of Baltimore.

Baltimore's oldest and largest Jewish publication, [1] it has been described as "the largest weekly in Maryland and one of the most respected independent Jewish publications in America", [2] and "one of the premier independent Jewish newspapers in the country." [3]

The newspaper was founded in 1919 by David Alter, and at one time it was "the largest Jewish publication in the country." [4] Alter built a seven newspaper chain, but only two survived the Great Depression, including the Baltimore Jewish Times. [3]

In 1972 the paper was taken over by Charles "Chuck" Buerger, the grandson of the founder, and in 1974 he was joined by Gary Rosenblatt as editor. The two expanded the scope of the paper's coverage, as well as the size; in the 1980s the paper regularly exceeded 200 pages, and circulation peaked at over 20,000. In the 1980s the two also acquired The Detroit Jewish News and The Atlanta Jewish Times, which were given similar makeovers. [3]

Rosenblatt left in 1993 to become editor of New York's The Jewish Week.[3] Buerger started the Palm Beach Jewish Times in November 1994, and a Boca Raton/Delray Beach edition in August 1996. [5]

Buerger passed away in 1996, and the paper was taken over by his son Andrew. In 1998 Andrew Buerger sold off the Florida newspapers, [5] and in 2000 he sold the Detroit and Atlanta papers to Jewish Renaissance Media. [6]

In 2006 the Baltimore Jewish Times claimed a circulation of almost 20,000, [1] of which over 15,000 were paid, [2] and over 50,000 readers. The decline in paid circulation since the 1980s has been attributed to "the decline in newspaper readership in general", and "industry trends"; [3] Andrew Buerger notes that "Baltimore then was also home to three daily papers". [4]

The newspaper is currently owned by Alter Publications, which also publishes STYLE and Chesapeake Life magazines. In March 2006 Alter Publications began publication of the Baltimore Jewish News, geared to Baltimore's 20,000 Orthodox Jews; the circulation of this free newspaper is currently around 5,000. [4]

In 2006 the paper won the 2005 Simon Rockower Awards for Excellence in News Reporting and Writing about Scientific and Technological Innovation Out of Israel from the American Jewish Press Association. [7]

As of 2006, Andrew Buerger was the publisher, and Phil Jacobs was the editor.


Editor Phil Jacobs was the Artist in residence for the star reporting discipline at the first ever JCC Maccabi ArtsFest held in Baltimore in 2006. Teen artists in that discipline wrote articles about the other disciplines for the Jewish Times and were published as the Cover Story that week.


[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b About Us, Baltimore Jewish Times website. Retrieved July 12, 2006.
  2. ^ a b Echo Media - Baltimore Jewish Times. Retrieved July 12, 2006.
  3. ^ a b c d e David, Michael. Publisher of 6 Jewish weeklies, Charles Buerger, dies at 58, j., November 15, 1996.
  4. ^ a b c Dechter, Gadi.Foxy Meets Orthodoxy, Baltimore City Paper, March 15, 2006.
  5. ^ a b De Marco, Donna. Jewish Times sells off its papers in Florida, Baltimore Business Journal, May 1, 1998.
  6. ^ Jewish Times owner sells two newspapers, Baltimore Business Journal, February 11, 2000.
  7. ^ Simon Rockower 2005 Awards for Excellence in Jewish Journalism, American Jewish Press Association website. Retrieved July 12, 2006.

[edit] External links

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