The Venetoulis Institute For Local Journalism

OUR MISSION IS TO BE AN INDISPENSABLE RESOURCE THAT STRENGTHENS, UNITES, AND INSPIRES OUR BALTIMORE COMMUNITY. WE WILL ACCOMPLISH THIS THROUGH TRUSTWORTHY, QUALITY JOURNALISM THAT TELLS THE VARIED STORIES OF OUR PEOPLE, HOLDS OUR LEADERS ACCOUNTABLE, AND DELIVERS LOCAL NEWS THAT READERS ARE WILLING TO SUPPORT.

IN 2022, THE VENETOULIS INSTITUTE LAUNCHED THE BALTIMORE BANNER, OUR FLAGSHIP DIGITAL NEWS PRODUCT. IN PREPARATION FOR THIS LAUNCH, EXPENSES CENTERED ON GROWING HEADCOUNT IN OUR NEWSROOM, PRODUCT, AND BUSINESS FUNCTIONS TO ENSURE APPROPRIATE SCALE AND INFRASTRUCTURE TO SUPPORT OUR ORGANIZATION. THIS INCLUDED THE ADDITIONS OF REPORTERS AND EDITORS TO OUR NEWSROOM, AND DATA, FINANCE, PRODUCT, AND MARKETING STAFF TO OUR NON-NEWSROOM FUNCTIONS, RESULTING IN A 2022 YEAR-END HEADCOUNT OF 89. ADDITIONALLY, VLIJ INVESTED $622K IN CAPEX TO SUPPORT TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE, GIVING US THE OPPORTUNITY TO IMPROVE USER EXPERIENCE AND INCREASE DATA-DRIVEN DECISION MAKING WITHIN THE ORGANIZATION. INVESTMENTS IN THE BALTIMORE BANNER APP AND WEBSITE INFRASTRUCTURE ENSURE THAT OUR NEWS COVERAGE CAN BE EASILY ACCESSED BY OUR AUDIENCES AND PROVIDE A POSITIVE USER EXPERIENCE THAT BUILDS THE FOUNDATION FOR SUBSCRIBER GROWTH. ADDITIONALLY, ENHANCED DATA INFRASTRUCTURE ENABLES US TO UNDERSTAND THE PREFERENCES AND BEHAVIORS OF OUR READERS, ENABLING US TO MAKE DATA-DRIVEN DECISIONS REGARDING CONTENT AND PRIORITIZE INVESTMENTS WITHIN OUR ORGANIZATION.IN ADDITION TO THE GROWTH OF VILJ STAFF, INVESTMENTS IN FREELANCE, CONTRACT, AND CONSULTING SUPPORT ENABLED US TO LAUNCH AND BUILD OUR ORGANIZATION. BY ENGAGING FREELANCE JOURNALISTS, WE EXPANDED WRITTEN AND PHOTO COVERAGE IN THE COMMUNITIES WE SERVE AS WE WORKED TO GROW OUR PERMANENT NEWSROOM PRESENCE. ADDITIONALLY, WE UTILIZED CONTRACTORS AND CONSULTANTS TO PROVIDE EXPERTISE AND SUPPORT FOR OUR IT, PRODUCT, FINANCE, ANALYTICS AND ENGINEERING FUNCTIONS. SINCE THE 2022 LAUNCH OF THE THE BALTIMORE BANNER AS A NONPROFIT, INDEPENDENT LOCAL NEWS SITE, WE CONTINUE TO STRIVE TO BECOME AN INTEGRAL AND VITAL PART OF THE COMMUNITIES THAT WE SERVE ACROSS BALTIMORE AND MARYLAND. AS ONE OF THE LARGEST AND MOST DIVERSE NEWSROOMS IN THE STATE, OUR TEAM OF JOURNALISTS WORKS TIRELESSLY TO COVER THE IMPORTANT ISSUES THAT MOST DIRECTLY IMPACT NEIGHBORHOODS ACROSS OUR CITY AND STATE TO HELP STRENGTHEN, UNITE AND INSPIRE OUR COMMUNITIES; INVESTMENTS IN OUR STAFF, INFRASTRUCTURE, AND FREELANCE AND CONTRACTORS HAVE HELPED TO ENABLE THESE EFFORTS.