The Baltimore Banner today announced Bob Cohn has been named Chief Executive Officer of the local nonprofit news organization as it approaches its second anniversary. Cohn replaces Imtiaz Patel, who left The Banner in July.
Cohn joins The Banner after serving as President of The Economist, where he is responsible for global business performance, consumer and corporate subscriptions, new commercial initiatives, and digital growth for the 180-year brand. Cohn will assume his new role effective February 19, 2024.
“On behalf of our board of directors and our incredible staff, I’m thrilled to welcome Bob Cohn to The Venetoulis Institute and The Baltimore Banner as our new Chief Executive Officer,” said Stewart Bainum, Chairman of the Board. “We have built a solid foundation for nonprofit local news in the Baltimore region, and under Bob’s leadership and Kimi Yoshino as our editor in chief, I believe we will continue to grow our readership and deliver meaningful content in new and innovative ways.”
“The Banner has already emerged as an indispensable source for local news in Baltimore and surrounding Maryland, and I look forward to leading its next phase of growth,” said Bob Cohn. “I’m especially excited by the challenge to broaden the reach and impact of our journalism, and by the urgent need to find, in these very difficult times, a sustainable business model for coverage of local news. I’m grateful to Stewart and the board for this tremendous opportunity, and to the talented and dedicated Banner staff, who are building a connection to the community through the clarity and impact of our journalism.”
“Bob has an impressive track record of digital innovation and transformation and I’m confident he is the right leader to help The Banner reach its full potential,” Yoshino said. “As a journalist himself, he fully embraces our mission and knows how essential it is to strengthen local journalism — not just in Baltimore and Maryland, but across the country.”
Prior to The Economist, Cohn served as digital editor and then President of The Atlantic, where he led the company to record audiences, revenue, and profitability, including three years of 20+ percent growth, through subscriptions, digital advertising, events, consulting, and non-standard media sources. While at The Atlantic, Cohn was named 2018 “Publishing Executive of the Year” by Adweek. Cohn was a Resident Fellow at Harvard University’s Institute of Politics and served as White House Correspondent for Newsweek before becoming an editor at Wired magazine.
Cohn is a resident of Maryland and serves on the Board of Directors for the Capital Area Food Bank and the Board of Advisors for Report for America. He is graduate of Stanford University and Yale Law School.
Cohn’s hiring caps a five-month national search. The executive search committee was led by former Boston Globe Editor Brian McGrory, chair of the journalism department at Boston University, who will continue to serve as a member of the Venetoulis board of directors.
The Baltimore Banner launched in June 2021. It has a staff of 100, including 75 journalists.
