Phil Merrill and my introduction to Annapolis

A big part of the reason I took this job (Internet Director at The Capital) in March of 2006 was Phil Merrill. He was the owner and publisher of the paper until his death in June of that same year. I was drawn to Annapolis and this job in a large part because I was intrigued.

Let me go back a bit. At the time, I lived in Tennessee. Had you mentioned the word "Annapolis" to me, I would have had little idea what this town was about. I certainly had ideas of the Naval Academy from my youth, a hazy idea that people had sailboats here, and, if you reminded me, would have recollected from my 7th grade civics class that it was also the capital of Maryland.

That was about it.

When I was first contacted about the job, I went straight to the Internet to look up Capital Gazette. I saw the site, read some of the paper online, and eventually found information about the publisher, Philip Merrill. He looked like a pretty interesting guy so I Googled him, Yahooed him, and ran his name through several other online search funnels.

That is when I got hooked. Who could pass up a chance to work around someone who fit that description?

I mean, here is a guy who bought a small paper, turned it into a very successful medium-sized paper, and bought a magazine and turned it into the most successful city magazine in the country (The Washingtonian).

All the while in a parallel life he was serving a number of positions at the State Department, Department of Defense, as Assistant secretary general of NATO, President of U.S. Export-Import Bank, and so forth. On top of that he was an avid sailor and philanthropist.

What kind of place would have a newspaper publisher like that?

Maybe that is when I started looking for Annapolis. What kind of town is home to this type of person?

It really intrigued me.

Now about the meeting -

I had been forewarned that meetings with Mr. Merrill could get really loud very fast. So I was ready for that - sort of. I had only been on the job a few weeks when I chanced upon him in his office (he was usually in at hours I was not walking around) so I decided to introduce myself.

After a very brief hello, he shot at me "What are you going to do with us on the Internet?" It came suddenly, with the force of a naval salvo.

It was not the question, it was the intensity.

Startled, I shot back about three things that were of top importance to me at the time. I don't even remember what they were. I am sure they were good.

What I do remember was Phil Merrill's response to my explanation.

"What does that mean to those people who live on that street in that city?"

His finger was jabbing the air in the direction of West Street. His eyes were a wall of fire. I was struck, not dumb, but enough to start wheeling my guns around as fast as I could.

Mr. Merrill did not say anything about 'his paper' as many publishers would have.

He did not talk much about revenue, procedures, technology, or trends. We discussed those things very little. But what overarched everything he said was how whatever we did would affect 'those people on that street.'

That was what really mattered. It was more than a passion. It was a fiery obsession with the people on the other end of The Capital's and HometownAnnapolis' product.

It was all about you.
The reader.
The site user.
The Annapolitan.

That was my first real introduction to Annapolis through the eyes and actions of someone who cared deeply about you.

For me, that short meeting of about 20 minutes was a life-changing event. I had always believed the feedback loop was the most important part of communication (what people get out of what we say). But I had never seen the idea take flight like it did that day. With a roar.

Phil Merrill not only believed it, he breathed it. With all his public honors, his wealth and his fame, it was really all about the common person down 'that street.'

It was the only meeting like that I would ever have with Phillip Merrill.

A month and a half later he was gone, slipping beneath the waters of his beloved Chesapeake Bay.

(If you would like to read more about Philip Merrill - we still have the tribute 'blog' on our site with some of the hundreds of comments people sent in upon his death. We also have a short biography of his life).