• by Ray Schultz , May 31, 2023

Imtiaz Patel will step down as chief executive officer of The Baltimore Banner, a nonprofit digital news site, on July 7 to join the senior leadership of Gannett.

Launched in June  2022, the Banner now has 100 employees, including around 65 in the newsroom. 

The product was founded in the wake of Alden Global Capital’s takeover of Tribune Publishing properties nationwide. 

Patel created “a healthy culture of openness, collaboration, innovation and respect,” says Stewart Bainum Jr., the founder and chair of the Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism.

“We have over 70,000 subscribers with paid access, a growing audience and work that has already had a meaningful impact,” says Patel, who will remain on the board of directors.