Journalists of the Gazette: Meet Sara Konrad Baranowski

What does the Managing Editor do?

I work with all of our journalists, our photojournalists, our digital team and other editors to make sure that we’re covering all the news in Eastern Iowa. That means planning what’s going to go on the front page of the paper, planning what’s going to be in our website the next day and working with reporters to make sure they’re telling the best stories they can.

What do you like about being the Managing Editor?

I like being Managing Editor because I get to work with everyone in the newsroom. I get to work with a reporter from the moment they have a story idea all the way through the process to seeing it published. That means the messy parts where they don’t know who to talk to or they don’t know how to organize the story, to the really successful parts where they have a breakthrough or they find new data. I also like working with the photo team, the digital team, incorporating video, making sure that we have the best package that represents that story and tells it in the way that our readers want to consume it.

How long have you been at The Gazette?

I’ve been with The Gazette since 2022.

Why did you decide to pursue a career in journalism?

I went to college to be a high school English teacher, but I found my way to the student newspaper office at the University of Northern Iowa and I loved it, so I stayed. I went to graduate school at the University of Iowa and then I set out and got jobs at other Iowa newspapers. I spent 16 years at the Iowa Falls Times-Citizen. It’s a town of about 5,000 people in north central Iowa. Then I came to The Gazette and I’ve been here ever since.

What do you want readers to know about The Gazette?

I want people to understand that the staff at The Gazette — the reporters, the photojournalists, the event staff, ad staff, the editors — everybody strives to do our very best work every day. We all got into this work because we care deeply about journalism, about the role that local news plays in keeping people informed and helping them make decisions in their community, in feeling connected to their neighbors and understanding what’s happening in their local area.

What do you like to do for fun?

Outside of work I like to spend time with my family. I like to read books and I really enjoy running. Well, maybe I don’t like running. I do like running and I also don’t like running at the same time. I’ve been running since I was in my 20s. I started with marathons and now I’ve migrated to trail races, which are a new kind of challenge. I like the physical challenge of running.

Share a fun fact about yourself.

In 2023 I ran a race with donkey. It’s the unofficial state sport of Colorado. It’s called pack burro racing, and you actually run the race with the donkey on a rope next to you, although they say that you’re not running the race — it’s the donkey’s race and you’re just with it. I rented a donkey. I was assigned Blaster, the former mascot of the Colorado School of Mines and we ran a five mile race in the mountains of Colorado.