Michael Olesker (born 1945) is a former syndicated columnist for ''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local, regional, national, and international news. Founded in 1837, the newspaper was owned by Tribune Publi ...

'' newspaper in

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, and a book author. Olesker attended the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

where he was on the staff of the school newspaper, ''

The Diamondback ''The Diamondback'' is an independent student newspaper associated with the University of Maryland, College Park. It began in 1910 as ''The Triangle'' and became known as ''The Diamondback'' in 1921. ''The Diamondback'' was initially published a ...

'', serving as the sports page editor. Olesker started writing for the '' Baltimore News-American'' in 1978, prior to becoming a ''Baltimore Sun'' writer between 1979–2006. He was also a commentator on

WJZ-TV WJZ-TV (channel 13) is a television station in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, serving as the market's CBS outlet. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division, and maintains studios and offices on Woodberry, B ...

from 1983 through December 2002, and his columns were syndicated in other newspapers such as ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is a daily newspaper in the United States primarily serving Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI" ...

'' and the ''

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving Greater Pittsburgh, metropolitan Pittsburgh in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the fi ...

''. Olesker resigned from the ''Sun'' on January 4, 2006, after it was alleged that his columns contained passages plagiarized from articles at other newspapers.Baltimore Sun Columnist Quits Amid Plagiarism Charges
FoxNews.com January 4, 2006.Court Favors Ehrlich on ban
''The Baltimore Sun'', February 16, 2006 After leaving ''The Baltimore Sun'', Olesker was a columnist for '' The Baltimore Examiner'' until that newspaper ceased publication in 2009. Olesker is known for his liberal viewpoints and for his criticism of the administration of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

Governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R), whose press office in November 2004 issued an executive order banning state executive employees from talking with Olesker. The ''Sun'' unsuccessfully sued over the ban, in a case decided by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The Maryland

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

Michael Steele Michael Stephen Steele (born October 19, 1958) is an American politician, attorney, and political commentator who served as the seventh lieutenant governor of Maryland from 2003 to 2007 and as chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC) f ...

also accused Olesker of making up quotes. Olesker is the author of ''Journeys to the Heart of Baltimore'' (

Johns Hopkins University Press Johns Hopkins University Press (also referred to as JHU Press or JHUP) is the publishing division of Johns Hopkins University. It was founded in 1878 and is the oldest continuously running university press in the United States. The press publi ...

, 2001, ) and co-authored '' Leap into Darkness'', a 1998 memoir of a

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

survivor. His other books include: ::* ''The Colts' Baltimore: A City and Its Love Affair in the 1950s'' () ::* ''Front Stoops in the Fifties: Baltimore Legends Come of Age'' () ::* ''Baltimore: If You Live Here, You’re Home'' He was an extra in the 5th season of

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

's ''

The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American Crime fiction, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series created and primarily written by the American author and former police reporter David Simon for the cable network HBO. The series premiered o ...

''.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Olesker, Michael American columnists The Baltimore Sun people Living people 1945 births Baltimore City College alumni