The Baltimore Banner registered dcbanner.com and thedcbanner.com domain names after finding out The Washington Post planned to lay off its sports department, according to new reporting from Natalie Korach in Status.
The domain registrations — which weren’t previously reported when The Banner announced its DC sports expansion two weeks ago — suggest the nonprofit news outlet may be eyeing a broader Washington presence beyond just covering the Nationals and Commanders. Editor-in-chief Audrey Cooper told Status she’s downplaying immediate expansion beyond sports, but hasn’t ruled it out.
Cooper also told Status that The Banner has already hired one former Post staffer for its new Washington sports beat and is talking to many more laid-off Post journalists about potential roles. The minimum plan calls for three additional reporters plus an editor, meaning at least four total hires to cover DC sports.
What’s become clearer since The Banner’s initial announcement is how directly Cooper is targeting Post leadership’s rationale for shutting down the sports section. In her memo announcing the DC expansion — published to The Banner’s website two weeks ago — Cooper wrote that The Banner’s “research and internal data show strong interest in coverage of these teams, and we know that excellent sports journalism drives reader engagement and subscriber retention.”
That line, reported by Korach in Status, takes a direct shot at Post executive editor Matt Murray and now-former publisher Will Lewis, who justified the sports section closure by claiming decisions were made with respect to reader data. If reader data actually mattered to Post leadership, Cooper’s memo essentially argues, they wouldn’t have eliminated sports coverage right as The Banner’s data shows strong demand for it from readers who will pay for subscriptions.
The Washington Post laid off roughly one-third of its total staff on Feb. 4, with the sports department taking the heaviest cuts. Post leadership eliminated the sports section entirely, moving a handful of reporters to the features department to cover sports “as a cultural and societal phenomenon” rather than covering games. Dozens of beat reporters, columnists, and investigative journalists lost their jobs, including everyone who covered the Nationals, Capitals, Commanders, and Wizards on a daily basis.
The Banner launched in June 2022 with backing from businessman and former Maryland lawmaker Stewart Bainum Jr. The outlet has established what Cooper describes as a successful business model in Baltimore, investing heavily in sports coverage and breaking significant stories, including accusations of inappropriate sexual behavior by former Ravens kicker Justin Tucker. The outlet employs two beat reporters covering the Ravens and Orioles, a sports columnist, three editors, and a podcast host.
Washington and Baltimore are 40 miles apart and share media markets. The seventh-largest metro area in the U.S. just lost all its daily professional sports coverage. The Banner thinks it can serve that market profitably. The Post decided it couldn’t — or wouldn’t.
The dcbanner.com and thedcbanner.com domain registrations, according to Korach’s Status reporting, show The Banner at least considering whether the opportunity extends beyond sports. For now, the focus remains on hiring journalists to cover Washington teams. Nationals spring training started last weekend in West Palm Beach, giving The Banner an immediate chance to prove it can fill the gap that Post leadership decided to leave open.