Lou Panos, longtime political reporter and columnist and a Lutherville resident, was honored for his 67 years in journalism by County Executive Jim Smith during a brief ceremony July 9 in the executive’s office.
 
“I grew up a little bit with the Evening Sun and Lou Panos,” Smith remarked at the beginning of the ceremony, which was attended by members of Panos’ immediate family, as well as former co-workers and county and community officials.

Smith said the example left by Panos, the veteran of every state legislative session in Maryland since 1952, “should inspire young people who are following in his footsteps.”

Panos started in journalism at age 15 working for the Associated Press as a copy boy. In addition to the Associated Press, he later worked for the Evening Sun and was a political reporter and columnist for Patuxent Publishing, the publisher of this paper, for nearly 20 years.
Panos entered semiretirement in 2002 but continued to write a weekly column for Patuxent Publishing Co.’s Baltimore County newspapers until he retired earlier this year.

Gov. Martin O’Malley, in a released statement, called Panos “a master of his craft like none other.”

“He brought the inner workings of public service to the homes of Marylanders through his unique perspective, having served with Gov. Harry Hughes before becoming a journalist,” O’Malley wrote. “I had the opportunity to be interviewed by Lou on several occasions and always learned something from Lou’s questions, as they were informed by decades of experience covering the state of Maryland. Lou’s retirement leaves a void that will not easily be filled in the world of journalism.”

Bryan P. Sears is political editor for Patuxent Publishing Co.’s Baltimore County papers.

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user comments (1)

user brucerobinson says...

This is an item that goes not under the "news" heading, but under the "paper of record." Lou Panos wrote as a spokesperson for the Democratic Party for more than twenty years. He was honored by Democrats Jim Smith and Martin O'Malley. None of the others he shilled for were identified in the article. Several times in recent years I called for Mr. Panos' REAL retirement, and had my pleas published. After my last letter on that topic was published, and days before the official announcment, I met Mr. Panos at the funeral of a mutal friend and introduced myself. He smiled and responded politely. I wish him well in the future. I suggest that he use copies of his old columns, rolled into balls and placed on fish hooks - catfish just love to bite nasty, smelly stuff.

Posted 3:18 PM, 07.17.08

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