The Baltimore Examiner’s name plate appears in purple these days, signifying our shoulder-to-shoulder commitment to our home team and its fans/our readers.

We’re also lighting our Pratt Street sign purple. Both will stay purple until we win the Super Bowl. Our reporting will stay black and white throughout and after.

Olesker joining The Examiner team

Columnists, so named for the column of a newspaper page they take to tell their stories, are not always the favorites of their publishers or editors.

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The good ones, who are consummate journalists with an attitude, write columns that often irritate, annoy, confound and vex the big bananas who call, write or holler at the publisher and editor and, on any given day, they write something that half or more of the readers don’t buy. But, when they do it well — and can write — readers go to them first, every day, after grabbing the paper.

Michael Olesker, one who ranks with the best, arose from the career dugout bench late last month, with an enthusiastic wave from editor Frank Keegan, to join the lineup at this newspaper. His first column appeared Monday, and you’ll find his byline in our newspaper at least four times a week going forward.

All of us who are honest with ourselves have found ourselves benched in one way or another over the years (or will). Handling benchings with grace is the mark of first-class hitters, pitchers and newspaper columnists.

Great columnists like Chicago’s Mike Royko and New York’s Jimmy Breslin and Boston’s Mike Barnicle found reasons to change the newspaper team for which they pursued their craft over the course of their careers. So also has Michael Olesker, Baltimorean, whom I’m pleased to welcome in this public way to The Examiner.

I hope you find reason to like what he writes, hate what he writes, laugh at what he writes, reflect on what he writes. Mostly, I hope (and know), you’ll read what he writes.

We’re pleased that he has decided to call The Baltimore Examiner home.

Donate subscription money to charity

You don’t have to pay to read a daily newspaper in our city anymore — not since The Examiner came to town April 5. Next time your newspaper subscription bill arrives, consider throwing it out and giving the money to your children or church or favorite charity and enjoy your Examiner — in print or at examiner.com. You’re in good company — more than a half-million readers like you across Maryland read The Baltimore Examiner or The Washington Examiner’s Maryland edition daily.

Keep sending us your news tips in 2007

Please keep your news tips, letters, ideas, suggestions and brick bats coming in 2007. It’s the best way to ensure we’ll get better and publish for you the newspaper you deserve.

Michael Phelps is chief executive officer of The Baltimore Examiner. He can be reached at mphelps@baltimoreexaminer.com