Updated: September 15, 2025
See related Company Privacy Policy
This Master Terms of Service (“Terms”) is a legal agreement between you and The Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism, a Delaware charitable nonstock corporation, doing business as The Baltimore Banner and The Banner (collectively, “Company”, “we”, “our”, or “us”). These Terms govern your access and use of the Company’s websites, applications, platforms and services, including thebaltimorebanner.com and thebanner.com (collectively, the “Services”).
Please read these Terms of Service before using the Company Services. By using any of Company Services, you agree to be bound by these Terms and acknowledge that the Company ’s Privacy Policy describes how we and others may collect and use information when you use the Company Services. To request permission for any other use of Company content or Company Services, contact us at privacy@thebaltimorebanner.com.
We may modify, add, or delete portions of these Terms at any time by notifying you of the change in writing (including by email or by posting the modified Terms of Service on Company Services and updating the date above). Please check these Terms of Service and the Privacy Policy frequently for updates. Your continued use of any of Company Services following the posting of updated Terms means that you agree to those changes.
Please note that these Terms are separate and distinct from the Terms and privacy policies governing the sites, applications, platforms, and services of Company’s affiliates and other sites, applications, platforms, and services that may link to or from Company Services.
The contents of Company Services are protected by U.S. and international copyright laws. The contents of Company Services are owned by or licensed to Company, Company’s affiliates, or other providers of content to Company (”Content Providers”). If you submit “User Materials” (as defined in the “User Materials” section of these Terms of Service), you are a Content Provider that provides content to Company. You may not reproduce, distribute, republish, upload, transmit, display, prepare derivative works of scrape for the purposes of replicating or republishing (by you or by third parties) publicly perform, sell, transfer, assign, license or use for commercial purposes any copyrighted material on Company Services without the prior written consent of Company, except as provided in these Terms of Service. All rights not expressly granted in these Terms are reserved to Company.
You may download content to your device and copy and print content provided, however, that it is a limited amount of content for your personal, non-commercial use only, further provided that: (a) you include without modification all copyright and other proprietary notices contained in the content: (b) you do not modify the content: (c) you do not use the content in a manner that suggests Company promotes or endorses your, or any third party’s, causes, ideas, products, sites, applications, platforms or services: and (d) you do not use the content in any way that is unlawful or harmful. Subject to the conditions in the preceding sentence, you may use widgets and tools on Company Services that allow selected User Materials to appear on your personal, noncommercial blog, site, application, platform, or service.
You may use the content feeds, APIs, media players, and other features of Company Services, and content accessed therefrom, only as expressly permitted in these Terms of Service, including the “Use of Content: Conditions and Acknowledgments”.
The Baltimore Banner®, The Baltimore Banner and The Banner program and application names, and The Baltimore Banner and The Banner logos, and the names, logos and program names of affiliates and Content Providers and any other trademarks or service marks appearing with Company Services, are the property of the Company, affiliates, Content Providers or other licensors. These marks are protected from reproduction, imitation, dilution and confusing or misleading uses under national and international trademark laws, and all rights in these marks are reserved by their respective owners. Except as otherwise expressly permitted elsewhere in these Terms, you may not use any such marks without the prior written consent of their respective owner(s).
Users of Company Services may post, upload, transmit and otherwise submit (“Submit”) comments, messages, recommendations, photos, images, story ideas, essays and other content and materials (“User Materials”) on or through the social networking features, discussions, Contact Us, and other features of Company Services. You acknowledge that User Materials may be routed through our servers, the servers of one or more third parties, and the Internet, and may be viewed by Company staff and on Company Services by the general public. You acknowledge that Company Services, including the social networking features, discussions, Contact Us page and other features of Company Services, are for generally public and not private communications.
We reserve the right to screen, refuse to post, remove or edit User Materials.
You retain the copyright and other ownership rights in any User Materials that you Submit on or through Company Services. However, by Submitting User Materials on or through Company Services, you grant Company, its affiliates, other Content Providers and their respective licensees a non-exclusive, perpetual, royalty-free, worldwide, transferable license to use, copy, sublicense, modify, transmit, publicly perform, display (including framing), create derivative works of, host, index, cache, tag, encode, and/or adapt your User Materials in any and all media formats, channels or platforms, whether now known or hereafter devised, including without limitation Company Services, affiliate sites, applications, platforms and services, third-party licensee sites, applications, platforms and services, over the air (on radio or television), and other applications and services, without payment and without further notice to you or request for consent. You further grant Company, its affiliates, and their licensees the right to contact you in connection with your User Materials and to use your name, location and other information that you have provided in connection with the User Materials.
For any User Materials you Submit on or through Company Services, you agree to abide by the following rules for Submitting User Materials through Company Services:
You further agree to the representations and warranties, and indemnification obligations, set forth in the "Representations; Indemnity" section of these Terms.
Company may provide content feeds on or through Company Services, consisting of a selection of headlines, summaries or text blurbs, and links to full stories (collectively, the "Content Feeds”). You may display, excerpt from, and link to the Content Feeds on your personal site or application, or the site or application of a nonprofit organization that is exempt from federal income taxes under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and is not a news, broadcast or multimedia organization (”501(c)(3) Nonprofit Corporation”) provided that you abide by the restrictions in “Use of Content: Conditions and Acknowledgements". If you display an entire Content Feed on your personal or 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Corporation blog, site or application, you may not redistribute the Content Feed and you must provide attribution to Company or the relevant Content Provider adjacent to the Content Feed, by including ”Company News Headlines” or ”Company” or the name of the relevant Content Provider in text adjacent to the Content Feed.
Company, in its discretion, enables registered users to access certain content, including audio, text, images and other content on Company Services, Company’s affiliates, applications, platforms and services, and other Content Provider sites, applications, platforms and services through its APIs. Company currently limits registration to certain types of users. Company has the right to establish further limits on registration, to stop registering new users, or to revoke registration at any time. Content accessed through the API is available to registered users only for the limited uses described in these Terms.
If you have registered with Company to access any Company API by using a key or client secret provided by Company, and if your registration has not been revoked, you may use the API provided that you abide by the restrictions in “Use of Content: Conditions and Acknowledgements".
Company may from time to time make available an embeddable audio player, other media player for accessing content, or other embeddable content on Company Services. Company media player may be embedded or displayed on your site, application, platform or service, provided that you abide by the restrictions in paragraphs 2-14 of “Use of Content: Conditions and Acknowledgments”, and further that (1) you shall not delete or modify Company logos contained in Company media player; and (2) you shall not insert any advertising or sponsorship messages adjacent to Company media player or in any way that suggests that the advertisement or sponsorship supports or has been placed by Company. Any other use of Company’s marks, Company media player, or of any content contained within Company media player requires the prior written permission of Company.
To use Content Feeds, API content and podcasts, or to Submit User Materials, you agree to the following conditions and acknowledgments:
Company is an organization committed to the highest journalistic ethics and standards and to independent, noncommercial journalism, both in fact and in appearance. Therefore, although Company encourages and permits links to content on Company Services, the linking should neither suggest that Company promotes or endorses any third party’s causes, ideas, sites, products, or services, nor use Company content for inappropriate commercial purposes or in any way that is unlawful or harmful. We reserve the right to withdraw permission for any link.
Company Services contain links to sites, applications, platforms, and services maintained by third parties over which Company has no control. Company does not endorse the content, products or services of such sites, applications, platforms, and services, or any of their operators, and Company is not responsible or liable for the content, availability, accuracy, quality, advertising, products, services, or other materials on or available from such sites, applications, platforms and services. Company shall not be responsible or liable, directly, or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with use of or reliance on any such content, products, or services available on or through such sites, applications, platforms and services.
In some cases, Company Services may include certain embedded tools provided and controlled by third parties and governed by the terms and policies of the third parties. You should only use these third-party tools if you agree to their respective terms and policies.
Company Services include a tool that allows you to sign in using information from your account with a third-party service, such as Facebook or Google. Please be aware that third-party services are unrelated to Company, and that your use of any third-party services is subject to the terms and policies of those services.
By using Company Services, including any of Company’s registration features or Subscription Services, you agree to the following rules:
You represent and warrant that if you Submit any User Materials or personal information on or through Company Services, (a) you are at least 18 years of age, (b) you have obtained all clearances, releases, licenses and rights to any User Materials you Submit on or through Company Services that may be necessary for their use as contemplated by Company Services and these Terms, (c) there are no encumbrances or restrictions on the User Materials or their use as contemplated by Company Services and these Terms, (d) the User Materials, and their use by Company, affiliates, Content Providers, their licensees, and users of Company Services and Company affiliate sites, applications, platforms and services (pursuant to these Terms and the Terms of Company’s affiliate or Content Provider sites) does not and will not libel any person or entity, or violate or infringe upon the copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, privacy, reputation, creative or other rights of any person or entity or violate these Terms, and (e) your use of Company Services complies with these Terms. You agree that you will indemnify and hold harmless Company, affiliates, Content Providers, and their respective directors, officers, employees, members, and licensees from any and all claims, liabilities, costs or expenses, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, arising from (1) your breach of any of the above representations and warranties, (2) your use of Company Services, (3) the User Materials you have Submitted on or through Company Services, or (4) Company’s publication, distribution or use of such User Materials, or the authorized publication, distribution or use of your User Materials by Company affiliates, Content Providers, licensees, or users of Company Services.
Company is not responsible or liable for any User Materials Submitted by you or a third party, including any User Materials, on or through Company Services. Company cannot verify the accuracy of statements that users make or place on or through Company Services and does not guarantee that any User Materials have been submitted with the permission of the copyright or proprietary owner or are otherwise in compliance with the Rules for Use of the Service or these Terms.
Company SERVICES AND ANY CONTENT, MATERIALS, USER MATERIALS, FEATURES OR PRODUCTS AVAILABLE OR SOLD ON OR THROUGH Company SERVICES ARE AVAILABLE ON AN “AS IS”, “WITH ALL FAULTS,” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS, WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, ABOUT THE SERVICES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION THE OPERATION OF THE SERVICES OR THE INFORMATION, MATERIALS, GOODS, OR SERVICES APPEARING OR OFFERED ON THE SERVICES OR WITH RESPECT TO ANY WEBSITES OR SERVICES LINKED FROM THE SERVICES. WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, STATUTORY OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO (I) THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, WORKMANLIKE EFFORT, TITLE, QUIET ENJOYMENT, NO LIENS AND NO ENCUMBRANCES; (II) THE WARRANTIES AGAINST INFRINGEMENT, MISAPPROPRIATION OR VIOLATION OF ANY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OR PROPRIETARY RIGHTS OF ANY PERSON; (III) WARRANTIES ARISING THROUGH COURSE OF DEALING OR USAGE IN TRADE; AND (IV) THE WARRANTIES RELATING TO THE ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, CORRECTNESS, OR COMPLETENESS OF DATA OR CONTENT MADE AVAILABLE ON THE SERVICES OR OTHERWISE BY COMPANY. FURTHER, THERE IS NO WARRANTY THAT THE SERVICES WILL MEET YOUR NEEDS OR REQUIREMENTS OR THE NEEDS OR REQUIREMENTS OF ANY OTHER PERSON OR THE NEEDS OR REQUIREMENTS SET FORTH IN ANY DOCUMENTATION. COMPANY DOES NOT WARRANT THAT COMPANY SERVICES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION COMPANY CONTENT, FUNCTIONS OR MATERIALS CONTAINED THEREIN, WILL BE TIMELY, SECURE, ACCURATE, COMPLETE, UP-TO-DATE, FREE OF VIRUSES, UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE. COMPANY DOES NOT MAKE ANY WARRANTIES AS TO THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM USE OF COMPANY SERVICES OR ENDORSE, RECOMMEND, OR MAKE ANY WARRANTIES AS TO THE CONTENT, INFORMATION, MATERIALS, USER MATERIALS, FEATURES, SERVICES, PRODUCTS, OPINIONS, OR STATEMENTS AVAILABLE ON OR THROUGH COMPANY SERVICES OR THROUGH LINKS ON COMPANY SERVICES. COMPANY MAKES NO REPRESENTATION THAT THE SERVICES ARE APPROPRIATE OR AVAILABLE FOR USE OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES. NO ORAL OR WRITTEN INFORMATION MADE AVAILABLE BY OR ON BEHALF OF COMPANY SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY. USE OF COMPANY SERVICES IS ENTIRELY AT YOUR OWN RISK.
CONTENT ON COMPANY SERVICES IS NOT INTENDED TO SUBSTITUTE FOR PROFESSIONAL ADVICE OF ANY KIND. IN PARTICULAR, NOTHING CONTAINED IN COMPANY SERVICES IS OR SHOULD BE CONSIDERED, OR USED AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR, MEDICAL ADVICE, DIAGNOSIS OR TREATMENT. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF YOUR PHYSICIAN OR OTHER QUALIFIED HEALTH PROVIDER WITH ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE REGARDING PERSONAL HEALTH OR MEDICAL CONDITIONS. NEVER DISREGARD OR AVOID PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL ADVICE OR DELAY IN SEEKING IT BECAUSE OF SOMETHING YOU HAVE READ, HEARD OR SEEN ON COMPANY SERVICES.
NOTWITHSTANDING THE FOREGOING, THESE DISCLAIMERS DO NOT EXCLUDE ANY STATUTORY CONSUMER RIGHTS CLAIMS, OR DAMAGES ASSOCIATED WITH PERSONAL INJURY OR RESULTING FROM COMPANY’S INTENTIONAL MISCONDUCT, RECKLESSNESS, FRAUD, OR GROSS NEGLIGENCE.
IF APPLICABLE LAW DOES NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF SOME OR ALL OF THE ABOVE IMPLIED OR STATUTORY WARRANTIES TO APPLY TO YOU, THE ABOVE EXCLUSIONS WILL APPLY TO YOU TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW.
IN NO EVENT WILL COMPANY, ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, MEMBERS OR CONTENT PROVIDERS BE LIABLE (A) FOR ANY INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE COMPANY SERVICES, (B) RELATING TO ANY CONTENT OR PRODUCTS AVAILABLE OR SOLD ON OR THROUGH COMPANY SERVICES OR TO ANY THIRD-PARTY CONTENT OR MATERIALS (INCLUDING USER MATERIALS), (C) FOR THE DEFAMATORY, INFRINGING, OFFENSIVE OR ILLEGAL CONDUCT OF ANY THIRD PARTY, OR (D) IN CONNECTION WITH ANY FAILURE OF PERFORMANCE, ERROR, OMISSION, INTERRUPTION, DEFECT, DELAY IN OPERATION OR TRANSMISSION, COMPUTER VIRUS, OR LINE OR SYSTEM FAILURE. IN NO EVENT WILL COMPANY, ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, MEMBERS OR CONTENT PROVIDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY AMOUNT IN EXCESS OF $100.
NOTWITHSTANDING THE FOREGOING, THESE LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY HEREIN, DO NOT EXCLUDE ANY STATUTORY CONSUMER RIGHTS CLAIMS OR DAMAGES ASSOCIATED WITH PERSONAL INJURY OR RESULTING FROM COMPANY’S INTENTIONAL MISCONDUCT, RECKLESSNESS, FRAUD, OR GROSS NEGLIGENCE. BECAUSE SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, COMPANY’S LIABILITY IN SUCH JURISDICTIONS SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW. ANY CLAIM AGAINST US SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE AMOUNT YOU PAID, IF ANY, FOR USE OF THE SERVICES.
Company does not charge you for the use of its mobile sites, applications, platforms and services or any features of these sites, applications, platforms, and services (“Company Mobile Services”). Please check your wireless plan, however, because carrier data use charges or other fees may apply. You agree that you are solely responsible for any costs you incur to access Company Mobile Services, including any excess data charges. You should keep in mind that the use of Company Mobile Services to send content to another person may result in wireless charges to both the sender and the receiver.
You may not use or otherwise export or re-export any of Company Services except as authorized by U.S. law and the laws of the jurisdiction in which Company Services were obtained. In particular, but without limitation, Company Services may not be exported or re-exported (i) into any U.S.-embargoed countries or (ii) to anyone on the U.S. Treasury Department’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List or the U.S. Department of Commerce Denied Persons List or Entity List. By using Company Services, you represent and warrant that you are not located in any such country or on any such list. You also agree that you will not use Company Services for any purposes prohibited by U.S. law, including, without limitation, the development, design, manufacture, or production of nuclear, missile, or chemical or biological weapons.
Company Services are controlled and operated within the United States. Company makes no representation that content, materials, or products available on or through Company Services are appropriate or available for use outside of the United States. If you access Company Services from a location outside the United States, you are responsible for compliance with applicable laws, including local laws regarding online conduct and content and U.S. export laws and regulations.
Company reserves the right to change, terminate or suspend Company Services, any features of Company Services (including, but not limited to, Content Feeds, API content, podcasts, and Company media player), and any content or materials contained in Company Services, in any way, at any time and for any reason or no reason. Company also has the right to require you to cease accessing any features, content, or materials of Company Services.
Company respects the intellectual property rights of others. If you believe that your work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement by any content or material on Company Services, please provide the following information in writing to Company’s Copyright Agent (see 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3) for further detail):
If you believe that any content or materials you posted, uploaded, or Submitted to Company Services, that were subsequently removed from Company Services, or to which access was disabled, were improperly removed or disabled, please provide the following Counter-Notification to Company’s Copyright Agent (see 17 U.S.C. § 512(g) for further detail):
Company’s Copyright Agent can be reached as follows:
The Baltimore Banner ATTN: Copyright Agent 621 E. Pratt St, Suite 401 Baltimore, MD 21202 Email: privacy@thebaltimorebanner.com
Email:
Only DMCA notices should be sent to the Copyright Agent. For other comments or questions regarding Company Services, please contact Company through our Contact Us page.
These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy, represent the entire understanding of the parties regarding the use of Company Services and supersede any previous documents, correspondence, conversations, or other oral or written understanding related to the use of Company Services. These Terms are separate and distinct from the Terms governing the sites, applications, platforms and services of Company’s Member stations, and the sites, applications, platforms and services that may link to or from Company Services. These Terms are governed by and construed under Maryland law, without regard to its choice of law rules, and, where applicable, the laws of the United States. To the extent permissible by law, any disputes under these Terms or relating to Company Services shall be litigated in the local or federal courts located in the State of Maryland, and you hereby consent to personal jurisdiction and venue in the State of Maryland. A modification or waiver of a part of these Terms shall not constitute a waiver or modification of any other portion of the Terms. If for any reason any provision of these Terms is found unenforceable, that provision will be enforced to the maximum extent permissible, and the remainder of the Terms will continue in full force and effect.
If you have any questions about Company Services or these Terms of Service, please contact us through our Customer Care page.
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