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Outlet profile

The Baltimore Banner

U.S. center-left (local nonprofit, philanthropist-funded)

Owned byOwned by the Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded and funded by Stewart Bainum Jr., a hotel-industry heir and former Choice Hotels chairman. The institute agreed in 2026 to acquire the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from Block Communications.
FundingMostly philanthropy from the Bainum family, who pledged $50 million at launch in 2022 and an additional $30 million over five years. The rest comes from digital subscriptions, advertising, events and other donations. In 2024 the institute reported about $27.3 million in revenue against about $28.8 million in expenses, so it still runs a deficit.
On the administrationbroadly critical

Background

The Banner launched in 2022 as a nonprofit digital newsroom to compete with the Baltimore Sun, then owned by hedge fund Alden Global Capital. Stewart Bainum Jr. committed $50 million at the start and later pledged another $30 million over five years. Early staff included many journalists recruited from the Sun, and its reporting has won major awards, including Pulitzer recognition. It reports its own metrics, and its subscriber base has grown, but it still depends on philanthropy to cover its costs. It has expanded its coverage to the broader Maryland area, and in 2026 its parent nonprofit agreed to buy the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. In 2024, Bainum made a bid to buy the Baltimore Sun, which David Smith (Sinclair Broadcast Group) bought instead. This set up a rivalry in which Poynter and others have reported on the Sun owner's interference. The Banner's news coverage is generally fact-based and uses standard sourcing. Its choices of what to cover, such as the effects of federal cuts, immigration enforcement and grant cancellations on Maryland, tend to reflect center-left or Democratic-leaning concerns. Its current Trump-era coverage includes the White House barring Gov. Wes Moore from a Baltimore County event, lawsuits over state law-enforcement mask bans, and the loss of Medicaid coverage for some immigrants.

Sources

  1. The Baltimore Banner (Wikipedia)
  2. The Baltimore Banner's parent nonprofit acquires the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Nieman Lab)
  3. The Baltimore Banner (Northwestern Medill Local News Initiative)
  4. A rare newspaper war was brewing in Baltimore. Then a billionaire owner began meddling. (Poynter)
  5. Trump White House bars Moore from speaking at Baltimore County event (The Banner)

Profile compiled 2026-10-16; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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