Editor, Award-Winning Reporter, Columnist.
Sarah Marloff is an award-winning reporter and editor. Her work has centered largely on the criminal justice system’s response to sexual assault surviors, LGBTQIA 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.
Sarah has led the arts coverage for Washington City Paper since June of 2021. She oversees a stable of roughly four dozen freelance writers and ensures in-depth, hyperlocal coverage of the city’s thriving, multifaceted arts scene. She’s reported on sexual misconduct at a local playhouse, unionization efforts at a private art museum, and layoffs of backstage crewmembers at city theaters, among other stories.
Since November 2023, Sarah has worked closely with the paper’s managing editor and audience engagement editor to grow readership, boost advertising efforts, and create a more holistic approach to the 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 and helped remove a sitting district attorney from office. 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. 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. To keep things interesting, she throws queer parties in her spare time.
Resume
Washington City Paper, Washington, D.C.
Arts Editor, June 2021 - present
- Helm City Paper’s arts coverage by assigning and editing reviews, accountability pieces, and profiles.
- Report on a wide range of topics in a variety of formats, including breaking news, investigative features, reviews, profiles, and stories on LGBTQ+ issues and domestic violence.
- Create and implement an updated newsroom strategy to better meet readers’ needs as local D.C. coverage shrinks, while balancing the strengths of a small staff.
- Produce annual issue-length spring and fall art guides from conception and editing to design. - Write features for special issues, including the People Issue, Best of D.C., the Answers Issue, arts guides, and the annual Pride package.
- Write our twice-weekly events newsletter for 25k subscribers, in addition to co-leading our daily newsletter (45k subscribers) and Weekend Reads (44k).
- Maintain the arts editorial calendar.
- Build partnerships with local niche outlets and nonprofits to expand community reach through cross-publishing, panels, and conferences.
- Recruit, mentor, and manage green and veteran writers.
- Co-lead the hiring process for staff writers, audience engagement editors, and interns.
- Co-lead weekly editorial meetings to plan our editorial calendar, feature packages, and special issues.
Freelance Reporter, Washington, D.C.
March 2020 - June 2021
- Reported features for publications including Smithsonian Magazine, Texas Observer, and The Counter on the arts, criminal justice, and queer history, among other topics.
- One story, “The Rise and Fall of America’s Lesbian Bars,” for Smithsonian Magazine, was the basis of a Late Night With Seth Meyers sketch in 2021.
Austin Chronicle, Austin, Texas
Associate News and Qmmunity Editor, Sept. 2013 - Feb. 2020
- Wrote breaking news posts, bimonthly news features, and weekly news stories.
- Reported on state legislature sessions, city elections, and major protests, often through long-standing relationships with sources.
- Authored the paper’s weekly LGBTQ+ column, Qmmunity.
- Rebranded and expanded the LGBTQ+ section, including the creation of a social media brand and weekly newsletter, increasing page traffic by 80 percent in six months.
- Assisted the news editor in assigning coverage, editing stories, and laying out the weekly print issue.
- Mentored interns, several of whom became staff writers and editors.
- Organized, designed, and led the paper’s float in the Austin Pride Parade, 2016 to 2019.
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