Economist’s Bob Cohn to join Baltimore Banner as CEO
Veteran media executive Bob Cohn has been named chief executive officer of The Baltimore Banner nonprofit news organization. Cohn joins The Banner after serving as president of both The Atlantic and currently The Economist, bringing a strong track record of guiding digital transformation and revenue growth at prominent publications.
According to the Banner’s story about the announcement, Cohn’s appointment comes after a five-month national CEO search by The Banner’s board.
Founder and board chair Stewart Bainum Jr. announced Cohn’s selection at a newspaper town hall meeting. Cohn will formally assume duties on February 19th upon departing The Economist after playing a key leadership role there as well.
The Washington Post reported that Bainum interviewed 11 candidates and called Cohn “a mission-driven man.”
He added: “You think we can pay him what the Economist pays him? Hell, no. He’s just a good person who wants to tackle this and make it work for the country, and his community.”
The Post reported that Cohn, a resident of Rockville, also will serve as CEO of the Banner’s official patron, the Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism. He replaces Wall Street Journal veteran Imtiaz Patel, who helped Bainum launch the Banner and left in May to be an executive at Gannett.
This year, the Banner brought in about $8.5 million of revenue, including from subscriptions, advertising, donations and live events, according to the Post report. It has about 32,000 paid subscribers, Banner executives said — and Bainum said it needs to hit 75,000 subscribers to be self-sustaining.
