On this edition of Your Call's Media Roundtable, we discuss coverage of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse.
Maersk, the company that chartered the cargo ship that destroyed the bridge, was recently sanctioned by regulators for blocking its employees from directly reporting safety concerns to the US Coast Guard — in violation of a seaman whistleblower protection law, according to The Lever's Lucy Dean Stockton. Maersk is one of the world’s largest shipping companies, reporting more than $51 billion in revenue in 2023. The Lever also reports that when US Senate candidate Larry Hogan was Maryland’s Republican governor, he worked to attract outsized cargo vessels to Baltimore’s port — despite safety warnings from an insurance giant and transportation experts.
Within hours of the bridge collapse, The Guardian's Dharna Noor was on the ground getting responses from community members. Jesús Campos, a construction worker for the company Brawner Builders, said the six immigrant workers who died while filling pot holes on the bridge, supported family members here and abroad.
Guests:
Lucy Dean Stockton, news editor at the Lever
Dharna Noor, fossil fuels and climate reporter at the Guardian US
Resources:
The Guardian: ‘We’re tough’: Baltimore pulls together after bridge collapse
The Guardian: As Baltimore bridge cleanup begins, fear of environmental contamination looms
The Lever: Hogan Pressed For Bigger Ships, Despite Safety Warnings
The Lever: Feds Recently Hit Cargo Giant In Baltimore Disaster For Silencing Whistleblowers
