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About Maryland Matters

Welcome to Maryland Matters, the premier site for news about Maryland government and politics.

Maryland Matters is a trusted nonprofit and nonpartisan news site. We are not the arm of a profit-seeking corporation. Nor do we have a paywall — we want to keep our work open to as many people as possible. So we rely on the generosity of individuals and foundations to fund our work.

Years ago, healthy competition for news out of Annapolis and across the state produced robust coverage. But the media landscape has changed. Newspapers have closed. Suburban bureaus have shut down. Reporting staffs have shrunk. Coverage of state and local news has all but disappeared.

Maryland Matters seeks to fill the void with original reporting and commentary.

We are deeply grateful to the many kind donors who are supporting us. And with sustained support, we intend to continue our comprehensive coverage — from Ocean City to Oakland, from Capitol Hill to the State House to Baltimore City Hall.

We will cover all the important issues: education and transportation, poverty and health care, energy and the environment, the business community and organized labor, and of course, politics. Maryland citizens will have the news they need to hold their government and elected officials accountable.

Without nonprofit news sites like Maryland Matters, many stories will never be told.

Maryland Matters is now a part of the States Newsroom network.

If you like what you read, please consider contributing to Maryland Matters. Your online contribution is secure and tax-deductible. Or you may mail a contribution check to States Newsroom, 50 F Street NW, Suite 460, Washington, D.C. 20001. Include “Maryland Matters” in the memo line.

The Tax ID number for States Newsroom is 84-2113822.

We welcome news tips, gossip, and all feedback at [email protected].

Thank you for reading!

Maryland Matters is an affiliate of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization, supported by grants and donations. Maryland Matters retains full editorial independence.

Staff

Josh Kurtz

Founding editor

Founding Editor Josh Kurtz is a veteran chronicler of Maryland politics and government. He began covering the State House in 1995 for The Gazette newspapers, and has been writing about state and local politics ever since. He was an editor at Roll Call, the Capitol Hill newspaper, for eight years, and for eight years was the editor of E&E Daily, which covers energy and environmental policy on Capitol Hill. For 6 1/2 years Kurtz wrote a weekly column on state politics for Center Maryland and has written for several other Maryland publications as well. Kurtz regularly gives speeches and appears on TV and radio shows to discuss Maryland politics.

Danielle J. Brown is a new Maryland resident covering health care and equity for Maryland Matters. Previously, she covered state education policy for three years at the Florida Phoenix, along with other topics such as abortion access and LGBTQ+ issues. Born and raised in Tallahassee, Florida, she is a 2018 graduate of Florida State University, where she served as an editorial intern for International Program’s annual magazine. She has also contributed stories to Rowland Publishing and reviewed community theater productions for the Tallahassee Democrat.

William J. Ford

Reporter

William J. Ford has worked as a newspaper reporter for more than 20 years. Most recently, he spent seven years covering Prince George’s County, some Maryland politics and other local news in the D.C. area for the Washington Informer. While at the paper, Ford received reporting awards from the Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Press Association and was finalist for beat reporting in 2021 and a 2019 award winner for beat reporting from the D.C. chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. Ford previously worked as a correspondent for Diverse: Issues in Higher Education magazine and for nearly 10 years covering municipalities and other local news for The Morning Call newspaper in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Bryan Sears

Reporter

Bryan Sears covers the governor and General Assembly, state politics and transportation for Maryland Matters. He has covered the Maryland State House for the last two decades at the Baltimore Sun Media Group, Patch.com and most recently, The Daily Record. Sears has won multiple state and national awards for police and crime reporting, local and state government coverage and investigative reporting that resulted in a guilty plea by a government official for stealing from his own campaign account. He’s a frequent radio and television contributor.

Danielle E. Gaines

Contributor

Danielle Gaines worked for Maryland Matters from September 2018 to January 2024. She covered government and politics for Maryland Matters for two years before moving into an editing position, ultimately serving as editor-in-chief for nearly three years. Previously, she spent six years at The Frederick News-Post ― as the paper’s principal government and politics reporter for half that time, covering courts and legal affairs before that. She also reported for the now-defunct The Gazette of Politics and Business in Maryland and previously worked as a county government and education reporter at The Merced Sun-Star in California’s Central Valley.

William F. Zorzi

Reporter

Bill Zorzi is a contributor to Maryland Matters and has served stints as a full-time reporter and contractor. Earlier he was a Baltimore Sun reporter and editor for nearly 20 years, focusing on government and politics. An Annapolis bureau veteran, he wrote a weekly column, “The Political Game” for the paper. Zorzi left newspapers for several years to write for television, including for the HBO series, “The Wire” and the HBO miniseries “Show Me a Hero,” which dealt with an explosive housing desegregation case in Yonkers, NY. He returned to reporting in 2018, when he joined Maryland Matters.

Louis Peck

Co-founder

Co-founder Louis Peck is the founding editor of National Journal’s Congress Daily, who, over nearly two decades, built the publication into essential reading for members of Congress and their staffs, along with lawyers, lobbyists, businesses, advocates and federal officials. He is now a contributing editor for Bethesda Magazine, providing comprehensive and sophisticated coverage of Montgomery County politics, and is a contributor to the Almanac of American Politics.

Angela Breck

Contributing editor

Angela Breck is best known for her 17 years as editor of the Maryland Independent in Charles County. She also has been an editor of local editions of The Gazette newspapers in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties. She is currently a contributor to The Lexington Park Leader in St. Mary’s County, and to Southern Maryland — This Is Living.

Margie Hyslop

Contributing editor

Margie Hyslop has covered government and politics in Maryland, Virginia and the national capital region for decades, working for The Gazette of Politics and Business, The Washington Times and The Montgomery Journal. She began that career on her native Eastern Shore. Her work has also appeared in The Daily Record and The Frederick News-Post.

In Memoriam

After working in national politics and on Capitol Hill, Keith Haller launched a polling and communications firm in Bethesda that offered invaluable advice to political leaders, corporations, media outlets and nonprofit groups. Keith was a vital part of the early planning discussions about Maryland Matters, supplying a bold vision and unsurpassed enthusiasm for the project. We wouldn’t be where we are today without Keith’s help, and we miss him terribly.

 

Maryland Matters staff photos by Elijah Pittman.