When The Baltimore Banner launches next year, its plan is to cover news of the Baltimore region intensely. Stewart Bainum Jr., the millionaire force behind it, just hired a top editor from The Los Angeles Times to lead the reporting--and says he expects her to take risks, "If we’re not willing to experiment and be willing to fail different experiments, this won't succeed because there's no map for making a local digital online news site financially stable and sustainable.'
The Banner will be owned by a nonprofit. Bainum says it won’t succeed unless it produces news that subscribers are willing to pay to read. His goal is not making The Baltimore Sun extinct, he says, but keeping public leaders accountable and citizens informed.
