© 2024 WYPR
WYPR 88.1 FM Baltimore WYPF 88.1 FM Frederick WYPO 106.9 FM Ocean City
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

How Baltimore Banner editor Kimi Yoshino is building her newsroom

The Baltimore Banner will operate as part of the non-profit Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism, founded and directed by Chairman Stewart Bainum. Imtiaz Patel is CEO and Kimi Yoshino is Editor in Chief. (image courtesy TheBaltimoreBanner.com)
The Baltimore Banner will operate as part of the non-profit Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism, founded and directed by Chairman Stewart Bainum. Kimi Yoshino is Editor in Chief. (image courtesy TheBaltimoreBanner.com)

Kimi Yoshino had established an impressive career in journalism-- she was managing editor of the Los Angeles Times -- when business magnate Stewart Bainum asked her to leave all that to become editor-in-chief of the online news operation he was starting: The Baltimore Banner.

Yoshino says, "This for me was a chance to start fresh and to build the kind of newsroom that I wanted to work in, the kind of newsroom that I thought would serve a community, and a way to really make a difference."

That newsroom she’s building, Yoshino said, is diverse but needs to be more so. Its sole focus is to cover the Baltimore region, with hard news that holds public officials accountable--but also arts, culture and personal insights.

Check out Baltimore Magazine's coverage of the Banner's launch. Or this piece by the Northwestern Medill Local News Initiative

Learn about WYPR and the Baltimore Banner's joint operating agreement.

Sheilah Kast is the host of On The Record, Monday-Friday, 9:30-10:00 am.
Maureen Harvie is Senior Supervising Producer for On the Record. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and joined WYPR in 2014 as an intern for the newsroom. Whether coordinating live election night coverage, capturing the sounds of a roller derby scrimmage, interviewing veterans, or booking local authors, she is always on the lookout for the next story.