What are the responsibilities and job description for the Regional Reporter - Baltimore County, MD position at The Baltimore Banner?
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About the Company:
The Baltimore Banner is a nonprofit newsroom founded to bring high-quality local journalism to the Baltimore metro area. We are creating a vibrant, strong, trustworthy, and sustainable news organization, seeking to re-imagine the future of local news. Using a multi-platform news operation, covering a broad range of topics from local government to culture and the arts. We tell stories that reflect the community, connecting neighbors, holding government institutions accountable, and making sense of the world. All this work is grounded in truth. We believe we can contribute to a more vibrant, informed, and whole Baltimore, surrounding counties, and the state of Maryland.
About the Role:
The Baltimore Banner is seeking a dynamic reporter to cover Baltimore County, a region full of diversity, challenges, and compelling stories. Often seen as a suburban extension of Baltimore City, the county is far more complex, with a mix of urban, suburban, and rural areas. From the bustling county seat of Towson, with its large university and shopping destinations, to the Chesapeake Bay waterfront on the east, and the scenic countryside up to the Pennsylvania border, Baltimore County is rich with contrasts and opportunities for impactful storytelling.
Key areas of focus for this role include the county’s budget challenges, population trends, development debates, and public safety issues. You'll report on vibrant communities like Dundalk, with its industrial history and redevelopment at Tradepoint Atlantic, as well as Catonsville, home to small-town charm and UMBC. The northern parts of the county feature a mix of thriving businesses—like McCormick and video game developers—alongside horse farms, winding roads, and rural landscapes.
As a Regional Reporter, you’ll cover topics of high interest to readers, from local government and courts to law enforcement and human-interest stories that highlight the diverse voices of parents, retirees, immigrants, business owners, and community advocates. Holding government officials accountable and explaining how policies impact everyday lives will be central to your work.
We’re looking for a versatile journalist who thrives on both breaking news and enterprise reporting, crafting engaging stories in a conversational tone that resonates with readers. Your ability to uncover what’s happening, explain why it matters, and show its impact will be key to expanding The Banner’s audience. This beat is at the heart of our regional coverage, consistently among our most-read content, and offers an exciting opportunity to connect with readers across a vibrant and evolving county.
Responsibilities:
- Write the news of the day quickly, with accuracy, context and sweep
- Have a keen eye for interesting stories
- Cultivate a diverse source network to inform story selection
- Use and understand newsroom analytics to hone and identify coverage that serves readers
- Collaborate with reporters across the newsroom
- Approach the beat creatively and deliver stories in a variety of forms
- Work across social media platforms to connect readers with our content
- Generate new ideas for audience growth
- Represent The Banner in the community as needed – in person or on television or radio appearances
Job Requirements:
- A minimum of 5 years of experience in journalism
- Ability to work in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment
- Strong writing skills and ability to quickly make complex topics understandable
- A strong instinct for news
- Digital savvy and a familiarity with audience analytics
- Ability to juggle breaking news with strong enterprise stories
- Enthusiasm for news and content that will resonate with readers
- Teamwork and willingness to collaborate with others
- Strong interpersonal skills and an ability to give and receive constructive feedback
- Willingness to work some nights and weekends as news dictates
- Reliable transportation to cover the reporting area
- A commitment to upholding journalistic values and ethics
Salary Range: $60,000 - $95,000 Individual pay may vary from the target range and is determined by several factors including experience, internal pay equity, and other relevant business considerations. We constantly review all teammate pay to ensure a great compensation package that is fair and equal across the board.
Our amazing benefits include:
- Flexible Paid Time Off
- Retirement savings - 401K plan offered through Human Interest, with a company match
- Student Loan Debt Repayment Assistance for qualified employees
- Full health benefits - medical, dental, vision, prescription, FSA/HSA., and coverage for family/dependents
- Sick Leave eligible for rollover
- Commuter Benefits
- 11 Paid National Holidays
- Employee Assistance Program
- Generous Parental Leave
- Company paid access to a wellness platform to support mental, financial and physical wellbeing
Our Core Values:
- Do what’s right. Honesty, morality, respect and the mission guide our actions and decisions. By doing the right thing, we inspire others to believe.
- Work together. We collaborate to create something special. Together we challenge assumptions, trust each other, take risks, and foster transparent and direct communication.
- Listen to be heard. Our stories are trustworthy. They are inspired by and created for our readers. Their story is our story. Communities are at the center of our journalism, and everything we do.
- Deliver impactful results. Acting as one accountable team and driven by an entrepreneurial spirit, we deliver bold and innovative results. We act fast, execute and learn. We celebrate great outcomes.
- Be inclusive. We celebrate the uniqueness of each individual and act by curating a culture that leverages diverse perspectives as the key to fulfilling our mission. The Banner is for all of us.
The Venetoulis Institute embraces diversity and inclusion, and we are wholeheartedly committed to being proactive in inspiring a culture of inclusion across our organization. We are dedicated to establishing an organization that reflects the fundamental respect for different ways of working and living, and we assure every employee the opportunity to reach their full potential.
We are dedicated to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities throughout the recruitment process. If you require accommodation due to a disability to participate in the application process, please contact careers@thebaltimorebanner.com to request accommodation. Reasonable accommodations may include, but are not limited to, adjustments in the application process, modifications or assistance regarding job interviews, and accommodations to enable access to our facilities. We appreciate the value that individuals with disabilities bring to our workforce and encourage applicants with disabilities to disclose their needs for accommodation to facilitate a smooth and inclusive recruitment experience.
Salary : $60,000 - $95,000
