The Baltimore Banner is hoping it can fill the huge hole left by the mass layoffs at the\u00a0Washington Post earlier this month.<\/p>\n
Including, it seems, for sports fans.<\/p>\n
The Banner\u2019s editor-in-chief Audrey Cooper announced<\/a> Thursday that the outlet is expanding its sports desk to cover Washington, D.C.-area teams. The Banner will cover the NFL\u2019s Commanders and MLB\u2019s Nationals day to day, alongside bigger-picture \u201centerprise reporting\u201d on the NHL\u2019s Capitals, NBA\u2019s Wizards, and Maryland Terrapins.<\/p>\n An internal email from Cooper was published to the Banner\u2019s website.<\/p>\n More from Cooper:<\/p>\n At a time when so much pulls communities apart, sports bring us together. The Washington Post\u2019s decision to eliminate its sports section creates an opportunity for us to serve more Marylanders with The Banner\u2019s distinctive mix of fearless accountability reporting, engaging storytelling and sharp analysis.<\/p>\n To support this expansion, we will add journalists to the ambitious team led by Chris Korman. They will deliver regular beat coverage of the Nationals and Commanders, as well as enterprise reporting on the Capitals, Wizards and Terps. Our coverage begins soon, with stories from the Nationals\u2019 spring training in Florida.<\/p>\n As part of a wave of layoffs last week that affected hundreds, the\u00a0Washington Post completely axed its own storied sports desk<\/a>. The historic paper will no longer cover the Commanders or any local team. Some sports reporters were folded into existing departments and are expected to continue covering the beat as \u201cas a cultural and societal phenomenon.\u201d<\/p>\n This week, Commanders head coach Dan Quinn honored the laid-off reporters from the\u00a0Post at a press conference<\/a>. Meanwhile, Nationals president Paul Toboni praised the paper\u2019s work and its Nationals reporters<\/a> in a start-of-season media session. Capitals coach Spencer Carberry did the same for the\u00a0Post\u2018s beat reporter.<\/a><\/p>\n