Giacomo Bologna, also known professionally as Jack Bologna, is an American journalist covering business, housing and urban development for The Baltimore Banner. Originally from Michigan, he has worked in investigative and business journalism across several news organisations, including the Clarion Ledger, Baltimore Business Journal and The Baltimore Sun.
His reporting has examined Mississippi’s welfare-funding scandal, hospital debt-collection practices and Baltimore’s housing problems. Through detailed investigations, interviews and public records, Bologna has covered issues involving financial accountability, property management and government decisions. His collaborative housing reporting also received professional recognition in 2026.
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Full name | Giacomo Bologna |
| Also known as | Jack Bologna |
| Profession | Journalist and business reporter |
| Originally from | Michigan, United States |
| Current employer | The Baltimore Banner |
| Previous publications | Clarion Ledger, Baltimore Business Journal, The Baltimore Sun |
| Reporting specialities | Investigative journalism, business, housing and urban development |
Who Is Giacomo Bologna, the Baltimore Banner Journalist?
Giacomo Bologna is a journalist whose professional experience includes investigative reporting, business coverage and local accountability journalism. His official biography at The Baltimore Banner identifies him as a business reporter and documents previous work with newspapers in Mississippi, Missouri, and Maryland.
At The Baltimore Banner, his reporting focuses on business activity and development in Baltimore. His published articles examine how decisions involving housing, commercial properties, and redevelopment affect the city.
Before joining the publication, Bologna gained experience across several newsrooms. He worked on the investigative team at the Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Mississippi, and later covered technology and health care for the Baltimore Business Journal.
His professional background also includes The Baltimore Sun. The Baltimore Banner’s official biography confirms this experience, although the exact dates of his employment there are not established.
Bologna’s investigations go beyond company news, using court filings and financial records to examine decisions made by organisations and their consequences for ordinary people.
How Bologna Investigated Mississippi’s Welfare and Medical Debt Issues
Bologna’s investigative reporting in Mississippi included work involving public funding and hospital billing practices.
On 14 November 2020, Giacomo Bologna and Anna Wolfe published a joint investigation through the Clarion Ledger and Mississippi Today. Their reporting explored allegations that money intended for Mississippi’s welfare programmes had been directed towards a biomedical business based in Florida.
The report also included statements from a figure connected to the welfare scandal.
Another substantial investigation followed in August 2021, when Bologna examined medical debt collection at St. Dominic Hospital in Mississippi.
His reporting, produced in connection with the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting and published by MLK50: Justice Through Journalism, examined how the nonprofit hospital pursued outstanding medical debts.
MLK50 also publishes investigative reporting by journalists such as Rebecca Cadenhead, whose work examines juvenile justice and institutional accountability.
Bologna’s investigation identified more than 3,600 lawsuits involving patients in Hinds County between 2018 and 2020. It also examined St. Dominic Hospital’s financial assistance practices, including cases involving patients who qualified for charity care.
The reporting drew on court records, financial documents and interviews with people affected by medical debt proceedings.
Published on 9 August 2021, the investigation examined the hospital’s practices during the period studied and included the institution’s response. It subsequently received attention from the Fund for Investigative Journalism, which supported the reporting and published additional information about the project.
These investigations established two important areas of Bologna’s Mississippi reporting: the use of public money and the financial treatment of patients within the health care system.
What Bologna Revealed About His Investigative Reporting Methods
In an interview published by the Fund for Investigative Journalism on 12 August 2021, Bologna discussed the practical challenges behind his St. Dominic Hospital investigation.
One of the most demanding tasks involved examining more than 50,000 paper court records. He explained how the information had to be organised into a spreadsheet that could support further analysis.
The records required careful review because not every lawsuit filed by a debt collector involved St. Dominic. Bologna described the need to distinguish relevant hospital cases from other legal proceedings.
Finding people who had experienced medical debt collection presented another difficulty.
He explained how he checked patients’ accounts against bankruptcy filings, medical bills, and court records. He also identified finding and contacting people affected by medical debt lawsuits as one of the investigation’s most difficult tasks.
During the interview, Bologna also acknowledged the influence of reporting published by MLK50 and Kaiser Health News. He described consulting earlier investigations when encountering problems with his own research.
Editorial mentorship played a role in developing the final report. He worked with journalist and editor Ron Campbell, whose feedback helped improve the structure and readability of the extensive investigative material.
Bologna also expressed views about the broader responsibilities of local journalism. He supported sustained investigative projects alongside consistent daily reporting and argued that collaboration between news organisations could benefit communities.
These comments provide a first-hand account of his methods and professional thinking during a particularly document-intensive investigation.
From the Baltimore Business Journal to The Baltimore Banner
A documented stage in Bologna’s Baltimore career began in October 2021, when the Baltimore Business Journal announced his appointment as a reporter.
The publication assigned him to cover technology, health care and innovation, expanding his professional work into sectors involving companies, research and economic development.
His reporting archive from early 2022 includes articles examining Maryland biotechnology incentives, cybersecurity startups, health care technology and venture capital.
Bologna’s subsequent professional history also includes The Baltimore Sun, as documented in his official biography at The Baltimore Banner.
His work at The Baltimore Banner focuses on Baltimore’s business environment, real estate and development decisions.
His Baltimore coverage also looks at the condition of rental properties, the activities of major property owners and the decisions behind redevelopment plans involving public resources.
This reporting combines his experience covering business activity with the document-based methods associated with his earlier investigative work.
Bologna’s Baltimore Housing Investigations and 2026 Recognition
Housing investigations became a significant part of Bologna’s documented work in Baltimore.
He was among four journalists credited on the collaborative project The Baltimore Housing Hustle Igniting a Foreclosure Crisis, which examined problems involving housing and foreclosure in the city.
The University of Michigan’s Wallace House Center for Journalists lists The Baltimore Housing Hustle Igniting a Foreclosure Crisis as a 2026 finalist in the Local Reporting category, with Bologna among the four credited journalists.
The recognition belonged to the reporting team and acknowledged the collaborative investigation rather than an individual achievement by Bologna.
His work also received attention from Baltimore Magazine.
In its August 2026 Best of Baltimore: News and Media coverage, the magazine highlighted Bologna and fellow Baltimore Banner journalist Hallie Miller for their reporting on housing and redevelopment issues.
Their coverage included scrutiny of significant Baltimore property holdings and problems connected with local development.
These projects gave his Baltimore reporting a distinct local focus while continuing the attention to financial and institutional accountability seen in his earlier investigations.
Giacomo Bologna’s Reporting on Baltimore Development in October 2026
Bologna remained active at The Baltimore Banner in October 2026, publishing articles on housing policy, property management, mortgage fraud, and redevelopment.
On 1 October 2026, he reported on Maryland Governor Wes Moore’s interest in modular housing as a potential response to the state’s housing shortage. The report explored the state’s interest in factory-built housing as a possible way to increase the supply of homes.
His coverage later turned to legal proceedings involving mortgage fraud. An article published on 7 October addressed a judge’s decision to impose a two-month sentence in a Baltimore mortgage fraud case.
In his 8 October 2026 coverage, Bologna turned his attention to Riparian, a major Baltimore property owner facing scrutiny over its Cleveland portfolio. The report described concerns about deteriorating homes and enforcement action by local authorities.
Development incentives were another subject of his reporting. An article updated on 9 October examined whether the developer associated with Baltimore’s Harborplace redevelopment had formally applied for a downtown tax break.
On 14 October 2026, he covered Mayor Brandon Scott’s position on the future of the Harborplace pavilions, including the mayor’s desire to see the structures demolished regardless of the redevelopment project’s progress.
His October 2026 articles covered subjects ranging from Maryland’s housing proposals to mortgage fraud proceedings and Harborplace redevelopment. They provide recent examples of the local business and development issues he covers for The Baltimore Banner.