Editor, Award-Winning Reporter, Columnist.
Sarah Marloff is an award-winning reporter and editor. Her work has centered largely on three areas of focus: the criminal justice system’s response to sexual assault surviors, LGBTQ rights and culture, and coverage of the arts. Her feature on the history of lesbian bars in the U.S. was the impetus for a piece on Late Night With Seth Meyers in 2021. Her coverage and dedication to survivors’ rights earned her the Jon Krakauer Journalism Scholarship to attend 2023’s End Violence Against Women International Conference.
Since joining Washington City Paper in June of 2021, Sarah has led D.C.’s alt-weekly arts coverage as the section editor. She oversees a stable of roughly five dozen freelance writers and follows the many local theaters, music venues, museums, and creatives to ensure in-depth, hyper local coverage of the city’s various entertainment and culture happenings. Her own reporting has uncovered the sexual misconduct of a local plahouse’s founding artist director; unionization efforts at a private art museum, and she most recently broke the story of a complicated fallout between two local theater companies.
In November 2023, Sarah stepped into the role of interim managing editor, where she has worked closely with the paper’s editor, staff writers, and audience engagement editor to grow readership, advertising efforts, and more holistic reporting of local news across sections.
Prior to joining City Paper, Sarah was the associate news and Qmmunity editor for the Austin Chronicle for nearly seven years. Her reporting pressured City Council to increase budget funding for the test ing of Austin’s rape kit backlog. She exposed county-wide loopholes in sexual harassment policies and broke more than a dozen stories regarding the treatment of rape survivors in Travis County. Sarah’s extensive coverage of the survivors’ lawsuit filed against the city, Austin Police, and Travis County’s District Attorney was cited by the New York Times and credited for helping bring about case settlements and the ousting of the county’s D.A. in the 2020 election. In 2018 and 2019, Sarah was awarded Best Journalist by Best of Austin voters.
Her work has appeared in the Texas Observer, Smithsonian Magazine, The Counter, Curbed, Thrillist, and more. Sometimes, she throws queer parties in her spare time.
Reporter/Editor Resume
Interim Managing Editor + Arts Editor, Washington City Paper: D.C.’s alt-weekly, June 2021 - Present
Co-create, implement, and lead an updated newsroom strategy to better meet readers’ needs while providing in-depth and accurate service journalism and balancing the strengths and needs of our staff.
Build partnerships with editors at other local outlets to expand community reach through cross-publishing.
Lead the hiring process for editorial staff, from writing job descriptions to conducting candidate interviews, with a commitment to equity, inclusion, and justice in our newsroom.
Develop and maintain 70% of the paper’s yearly budget for freelance writers.
Assist the news team with reproductive rights stories by covering the end of Roe v. Wade, connecting writers with sources and local abortion providers, and editing.
Reintroduced WCP’s annual Pride Issue and expanded coverage to span Black Pride through June to promote and support the city’s queer and trans communities.
Maintain a stable of 50+ freelance writers while also recruiting new talent.
Helm WCP’s arts coverage from assigning to editing 2 to 8 stories per week, while simultaneously reporting my own pieces, which often focus on sexual misconduct, financial mismanagement, and unionization efforts at local institutions.
Produce our biannual art guides: 50,000 word packages highlighting local events and artists. Creation includes sifting through pitches, assigning coverage, and working with our photographer and web team to design an eye-catching, fresh, and engaging product.
Co-lead weekly editorial meetings to develop and implement our weekly publishing schedule as well as feature packages and special issues.
Attend press openings, community events, and screenings as a WCP leader to enhance coverage and stay engaged in and connected to the community.
Craft our twice-weekly events newsletter, which has grown from 16k subscribers to nearly 20,500 since I took over, in addition to co-leading the publication of our daily newsletter for 47,750 subscribers.
Freelance Reporter: Writing for various local and national outlets
March 2020 - June 2021
Connect with and pitch editors of various publications including Smithsonian Magazine, The Counter, Texas Observer, Washington City Paper, and more
Research and report on a wide array of news and magazine stories
Locate and interview topic experts and sources with first-hand experience using internet research and social media connections
Meet overlapping, tight deadlines for publication
Work with editors and copy editors as needed
Austin Chronicle: Austin’s alt-weekly, Austin, TX. Sept. 2013 - Feb. 2020
Associate News Editor, Nov. 2016-Feb. 2020
Authored breaking news posts on local politics, hate crimes, court cases and more
Produced bimonthly investigative features and weekly news analysis
Demonstrated advanced interviewing, researching, editing, and writing skills while meeting tight deadlines
Reported on state legislature; city and statewide elections and protests
Filed, and reported on, public records requests with city and county officials
Established long term relationships with sources including police officers, grassroots organizers, state lawmakers and more
Co-authored long-form stories with colleagues
Coordinated with writers, editors, photographers and design staff to ensure deadlines were met and stories were ready for publication
Attended weekly News and Editorial meetings to develop story lists and assure issue continuity
Collaborated with SEO team to optimize online headlines
Qmmunity Editor, Jan. 2016-Feb. 2020
Authored weekly column and breaking news blogs on LGBTQ+ news, culture and events at the local, state and national levels
Rebranded the section and expanded the editorial calendar, which raised traffic by 80% in six month
Covered press conferences, police trainings, and court hearings on LGBTQ+ issues
Collaborated with section editors for robust LGBTQ+ coverage
Covered LGBTQ+ and women-related tracks at SXSW 2015 –2019
Designed, wrote and edited the vertical’s weekly newsletter
Mentored interns; fostered relationships with writers for diverse coverage
Created and ran Qmmunity’s social media brand on Facebook and Instagram
SharpHeels: Online publication for women in business, Austin, TX. Dec. 2013 - April 2015
Entertainment Editor
Developed contacts at CBS, STARZ, PBS, and more to secure interviews, art for features
Authored over 100 articles on women in entertainment; promoted via social media
Worked with CEO to help hire writers, oversee intern assignments, and edit contributor submissions
Obsessed Magazine: D.C.’s lifestyle and culture publication, Washington D.C. Sept. 2011 - Dec 2014
Features Editor
Collaborated with executive leadership to increase readership
Mentored and trained a team of several reporters
Wrote long-form and short pieces on culture, health, and D.C. life
Where the Girls Go: Queer events calendar and culture blog, Washington D.C. April 2011 - Feb. 2014
Editor-in-Chief
Recruited to provide creative guidance, restructure website, and promote via social media to reach a more targeted audience
Fostered relationships with local businesses through cross promotion
Created, promoted, and executed popular events drawing 100-500 attendees
Social Media Contract Work
LGBTQutie.com, April 2014 - Oct. 2016
- Managed the company's social media accounts
- Established connections for cross-promotion with webseries, fashion lines, artists, and community leaders
- Grew social media followers and app users
- Led online campaigns to promote app and build followers
- Secured company's VIP media sponsorship for one of the largest LGBTQ events in the U.S., Dinah Shore, in 2016
PeakTwo, April 2012 - Jan. 2016
- Ran multiple social media accounts for several clients including tech startups and yoga studios
- Promoted business offers, events, and activities for numerous clients
- Grew followers by tracking site traffic to and from social media
- Utilized Google Analytics, Sprout Social, and Facebook Analytics to create monthly reports
- Handled daily link building on relevant and related news stories
- Ghost-authored blogs for PeakTwo's website