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About the Job:

The Baltimore Banner is looking for an enterprising, creative Newsletter Writer to anchor our flagship daily newsletter The Scan. The ideal candidate will have a knack for spotting the most compelling facts and details, then translating those into useful newsletter briefs that will drive clicks to our website. Voice will be an important tool for the newsletter writer — yes, we report facts, but we're looking for an emcee to bring people to the party and keep them coming back. Help us build daily habits with readers by being yourself and showing readers what's special about our journalism.

At its core, this role drives engagement with a valuable segment of readers. Applicants should be comfortable listening to readers, talking to readers and using data to write emails and news alerts that will help us meet our audience goals.

This position reports to the newsletter editor and is part of the audience team. In addition to anchoring the daily newsletter, this person will help refine our existing newsletter portfolio and develop new newsletters. This role includes opportunities to work with the social team and/or to pursue short- and medium-term reporting projects.

Responsibilities:

• Helm our must-read daily newsletter, five days a week
• Break news that delivers value to our audience
• Curate news from across the state
• Collaborate with members across all editorial departments
• Assist the newsletter editor and director of audience with ongoing newsletter strategy
• Be nimble and experiment with formats and styles, measuring success and implementing new strategies
• The working days for this position are likely Sunday-Thursday and may include early mornings and/or non-traditional hours

Requirements:

• At least three years of experience in a news organization
• A self-starter who can both work independently and pivot to co-create with colleagues
• Excellent news judgment
• Prior experience reporting and writing — preferably for a newsletter
• Experience writing or curating engaging content
• Ability to use analytics tools and data to influence editorial strategy
• Ability to innovate and bring new ideas to our newsletter strategy
• 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
• A commitment to upholding journalist values and ethics

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.

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.