By Adam Pagnucco.
As I have previously written, the Baltimore Banner is expanding to Montgomery County. And at an event at a private home last night in Chevy Chase, Banner executives began to unveil details of what its operation will look like.
The event hosted roughly 70 people and featured a mix of MoCo’s wealthy and powerful, including many elected officials and the Banner’s founder, Choice Hotels Chairman Stewart W. Bainum, Jr. himself. Comptroller Brooke Lierman introduced Banner executives after praising its role in Baltimore media, noting that she “never” wanted to appear on its front page. (That’s a compliment, folks!) And then Banner board member Sandy Bainum, CEO Bob Cohn and Montgomery County Executive Editor Zuri Berry got down to business.
Baltimore Banner CEO Bob Cohn.
Cohn laid out the rationale for the Banner coming to MoCo: the county may be the largest one in Maryland, but it’s “something of a news desert” and “under-covered.” He said, “Our research shows there’s a hunger for reliable independent reporting.” He noted that the county’s local journalist count per capita was close to the national average – which has collapsed in recent decades – and declared, “We think Montgomery County deserves more and better.”
Berry noted the importance of traditional coverage areas (more on that soon) but also said, “We have to make space for joy, food and things to do.” He followed with, “We have to show up in the community to have people get to know us and trust us… We’re going to talk to everybody and anybody.”
The crowd listens to Cohn speak.
Cohn and Berry then took questions. Here are a few things I learned.
The outlet will go by “the Banner” in MoCo, not “the Baltimore Banner.”
It will have an office in the county.
To start, it will have a staff of 8 people (including Berry). Five will be reporters. Their areas of interest will be express (general assignment), local government, education, food/arts/culture and growth/economic development. These will not be rigid beats and allow opportunities for flexibility and other reporting topics. MoCo coverage may begin as early as September but will definitely be underway by the fall.
Of its 67,000 paid subscribers, 2,000 live in Montgomery County right now. Of course, the Banner is determined to aggressively increase that count.
The Banner will accept letters and commentary but will not endorse candidates for office. “We’re a nonprofit,” said Berry.
The Banner has four revenue streams: contributions (including a large founding contribution by Bainum), advertising, subscriptions and events. Since the Banner is a 501(c)(3), contributions are tax deductible. This is a more diverse revenue structure than other outlets who depend primarily or entirely on advertising.
A Banner report distributed at the event.
I have been writing off and on about this county since 2006. So far, the story of local media during this time has been one of decline. Some outlets (like the Gazette, the Examiner, the Sentinel and Patch) have ceased local coverage and others (like the Washington Post) have sharply cut it back. To have a serious, well-funded outlet like the Banner expand here is rare good news for our local media ecosystem. And hopefully, the Banner’s entry will prompt other outlets to compete harder and better. We can wish, right?
Banner folks, welcome to MoCo. We hope you like it here and stay awhile!