The media seas are rocky for some of America’s largest legacy news organizations. NPR, The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post have all announced layoffs and restructuring in recent days and weeks.

And the outlook for many smaller organizations is cloudy as well. Last fall, the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University reported that between late 2019 and the spring of 2022, more than 360 newspapers around the country closed. In the last 20 years, between 1,300 and 1,400 communities became “news deserts,” with no local journalists reporting on local issues.

To a certain extent, Baltimore is defying that trend. Last year, The Baltimore Beat, a Black-led, Black-controlled nonprofit newspaper and online outlet was revived after a long absence with a million dollar infusion of funds from the family foundation of Adam Holofcener. It joins the Afro, founded in 1892, and the Baltimore Times, which began in 1986, as media that focuses on Baltimore’s Black community. These publications have deep roots in the community. The Times, for example, is published by Joy Bramble, the mother of developer David Bramble, who is renovating and reimagining Baltimore’s Harbor Place.

And one year ago tomorrow, the most significant addition to the local media landscape in generations was launched. The Baltimore Banner is an online news platform that has been our news partner here at WYPR since its inception. The Banner also works closely with WJZ television.

The Banner was founded by Stewart Bainum, a businessman and philanthropist who has committed $50 million dollars over the next several years to establish and sustain the nonprofit newsroom devoted to local coverage of local news.

Bainum recruited Kimi Yoshino, a seasoned and highly respected journalist from the LA Times to serve as the Banner’s editor in chief. Imtiaz Patel, another experienced newspaper executive, was tapped to be the CEO and Publisher.

As the Banner enters its second year, we thought we would reflect on the impact it has had on the Baltimore metropolitan area.

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