Politics & Social Commentary • Daily
A relatively new broadsheet that sprang up shortly after Laeral Silverhand was named Open Lord. The paper styles itself “an old gray lady” just like the Waterdeep Sentinel, but it’s such an advocate for Silverhand’s government that even its most loyal readers recognize it is a mouthpiece for her policies.
Silverhand’s nephew, Danilo Thann, is the publisher. He cares little for day-to-day operations, which he delegates to the tireless half-elf editor, Afedra Willlowind. Because of the association with the Open Lord, its detractors say the Guardian has lots of subscribers, but few true readers. A popular parlor game is to scrutinize an issue’s classifieds to see if hidden Harper messages can be spotted—both Thann and Silverhand have long associations with the Harpers.
The Guardian has one feature that all its competitors wished it had: a contributor whose personality shines through the pages of tiny type. “Bonnie Blue” is the pen name of Rebekkah Rooftyler, a former reporter for the Waterdeep Watchman and two other now-defunct newspapers. A veteran investigator, she re-invented herself in the pages of the Guardian, writing with spunk and sparkle and personifying the best parts of the City of Splendors. Twice already, Thann had Rooftyler fired for demanding for an increase in salary but when he tried to ghostwrite the column in her absence, the ruse was discovered and she was reinstated with an increased compensation. Single-copy sales dropped when issues didn’t include the real “Bonnie Blue.”