 | |
 The front page ofThe Philadelphia Inquirer on November 8, 2023 | |
| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner(s) | The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC |
| Founder(s) |
|
| Publisher | Elizabeth H. Hughes |
| Editor | Gabriel Escobar |
| Managing editors |
|
| Deputy managing editors |
|
| Founded | June 1, 1829; 195 years ago (1829-06-01) (asThe Pennsylvania Inquirer) |
| Headquarters | 100 S. Independence Mall West Suite 600 Philadelphia,Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Country | United States |
| Circulation | 52,000 print 118,000 digital (as of 2025)[1] |
| Sister newspapers | Philadelphia Daily News |
| ISSN | 0885-6613 |
| OCLC number | 45211992 |
| Website | www |
The Philadelphia Inquirer, often referred to simply asThe Inquirer, is a daily newspaper headquartered inPhiladelphia,Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829,The Philadelphia Inquirer is the third-longest continuously operating daily newspaper in the United States.[2]
The newspaper has the largest circulation of any newspaper in both Pennsylvania and theDelaware Valley metropolitan region, which includes Philadelphia and its surrounding communities in southeastern Pennsylvania,South Jersey, northernDelaware, and the northernEastern Shore of Maryland. As of 2020, the newspaper has the 17th-largest circulation of any newspaper in the United States[3] As of 2020,The Inquirer has won 20Pulitzer Prizes.[4]
Several decades after its 1829 founding,The Inquirer began emerging as one of the nation's major newspapers during theAmerican Civil War. Its circulation dropped after the Civil War's conclusion, but it rose again by the end of the 19th century. Originally supportive of theDemocratic Party,The Inquirer's political orientation eventually shifted toward theWhig Party and then theRepublican Party before stating, in the mid-20th century, that it was politically independent.
By the end of the 1960s,The Inquirer trailed its chief competitor,The Philadelphia Evening Bulletin in circulation, and was lacking modern facilities and experienced staff. In the 1970s, however, following its acquisition byKnight Ridder and the hiring of new editors, it once again emerged as one of the nation's most prominent and influential newspapers.
The Philadelphia Inquirer is owned byThe Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC, which also publishesPhiladelphia Daily News, the city's dailytabloid, and the news portal philly.com. As of 2023, the newspaper's publisher and chief executive officer is Elizabeth H. Hughes, and its editor is Gabriel Escobar.[5]
The Philadelphia Inquirer was founded June 1, 1829, by printer John R. Walker andJohn Norvell, former editor of Philadelphia's largest newspaper, theAurora & Gazette. Aneditorial in the first issue ofThe Pennsylvania Inquirer promised that the paper would be devoted to the right of a minority to voice their opinion and "the maintenance of the rights and liberties of the people, equally against the abuses as the usurpation of power." They pledged support to then-President Andrew Jackson and "home industries, American manufactures, andinternal improvements that so materially contribute to the agricultural, commercial and national prosperity."[6]
The Philadelphia Inquirer is the third-oldest surviving daily newspaper in the United States. In 1962, anInquirer-commissioned historian tracedThe Inquirer toJohn Dunlap'sThe Pennsylvania Packet, which was founded on October 28, 1771.
In 1850,The Packet was merged with another newspaper,The North American, which later merged with thePhiladelphia Public Ledger.[7] ThePublic Ledger, in turn, merged withThe Philadelphia Inquirer in the 1930s.
Between 1962 and 1975, a line onThe Inquirer's front page claimed that the newspaper is the United States' oldest surviving daily newspaper.[6] If the lineage ofThe Packet andThe North American is counted in the newspaper's history,The Inquirer would currently be the longest continuously published newspaper in the nation.
Six months afterThe Inquirer was founded, with competition from eight established daily newspapers, lack of funds forced Norvell and Walker to sell the newspaper to publisher andUnited States Gazette associate editorJesper Harding. In 1829,The Inquirer moved from its original location betweenFront and 2nd streets to between 2nd and 3rd streets. After Harding acquiredThe Pennsylvania Inquirer, it was briefly published as an afternoon paper before returning to its original morning format in January 1830.
When Harding bought and merged theMorning Journal in January 1830, the newspaper was moved to South Second Street. Ten years later,The Inquirer moved again, this time to its own building at the corner of Third Street and Carter's Alley.
Harding expandedThe Inquirer's content, and the newspaper soon grew into a major Philadelphia newspaper. The expanded content included the addition of fiction. In 1840, Harding gained rights to publish severalCharles Dickens novels for which Dickens was paid a significant sum, even though the common practice was to pay little or nothing for the rights of foreign authors' works.[6]
Harding retired in 1859, and was succeeded by his son, William White Harding, who had become a partner three years earlier. William Harding changed the name of the newspaper to its current name,The Philadelphia Inquirer. In an attempt to increasecirculation, Harding cut the price of the paper, began delivery routes and had newsboys sell papers on the street.
In 1859, circulation had been around 7,000; by 1863 it had increased to 70,000. Part of the increase was due to the interest in news during theAmerican Civil War. An estimated 25,000 to 30,000 copies ofThe Inquirer were distributed toUnion Army soldiers during the war and several times theU.S. government askedThe Philadelphia Inquirer to publish special editions for its soldiers.The Philadelphia Inquirer supported the Union, but Harding wanted their coverage to remain neutral.Confederate generals often sought copies of the paper, believing that the newspaper's war coverage was accurate.[6]
During the Civil War,Inquirer journalistUriah Hunt Painter was at theFirst Battle of Bull Run in 1861, a battle which ended in a Confederate victory. Initial reports from the government claimed a Union victory, butThe Inquirer went with Painter's firsthand account. Crowds threatened to burnThe Inquirer's building down because of the report. Another report aboutGeneral George Meade angered him enough that he punished Edward Crapsey, the reporter who wrote it. Crapsey and other Civil War correspondents at the newspaper later decided to attribute any victories of theArmy of the Potomac, Meade's command, toUlysses S. Grant, commander of the Union Army. Any defeats, conversely, were attributed to Meade.[6]
During the Civil War,The Inquirer continued to grow with more staff being added and another move into a larger building onChestnut Street. Following the Civil War,The Inquirer faced financial challenges, and Harding became ill. Despite Philadelphia's population growth, distribution fell from 70,000 during the Civil War to 5,000 in 1888.
In 1889, the newspaper was sold to publisher James Elverson, who movedThe Inquirer to a new building that included the latest printing technology. Elverson also increased the newspaper's staff. A newInquirer premiered on March 1, 1889, and was successful enough that Elverson launched a Sunday edition of the newspaper. In 1890, in an attempt to increase circulation further, the price ofThe Inquirer was cut and the paper's size was increased, mostly withclassified advertisements. After five years,The Inquirer had to move into a larger building onMarket Street and later expanded further into an adjacent property.[6]
After Elverson's death in 1911, his son by his wife Sallie Duvall, James Elverson Jr. took charge. Under Elverson Jr., the newspaper continued to grow, eventually needing to move again. Elverson Jr. bought land atBroad and Callowhill Streets and built the 18-story Elverson Building, now known as theInquirer Building. The first issue ofThe Inquirer was printed at the new building on July 13, 1925. Four years later, in 1929, Elverson Jr. died, and his sister, Eleanor Elverson Patenôtre, widow ofJules Patenôtre, assumed leadership ofThe Inquirer.[6]
Patenôtre ordered cuts throughout the paper, but was not really interested in managing it, and ownership of the newspaper was put up for sale.Cyrus Curtis and Curtis-Martin Newspapers Inc. bought the newspaper on March 5, 1930.[8]
Curtis died a year later and his stepson-in-law,John Charles Martin, took charge. Martin mergedThe Inquirer with another paper, thePublic Ledger, but theGreat Depression hurt Curtis-Martin Newspapers and the companydefaulted in payments of maturity notes. Ownership ofThe Inquirer then returned to the Patenôtre family and Elverson Corp.[9]
Charles A. Taylor was elected president of The Inquirer Co. and ran the paper until it was sold toMoses L. Annenberg in 1936. During the period between Elverson Jr. and AnnenbergThe Inquirer stagnated, its editors ignoring most of the poor economic news of the Depression. The lack of growth allowedJ. David Stern's newspaper,The Philadelphia Record, to surpassThe Inquirer in circulation and become the largest newspaper in Pennsylvania.[7][10]
Under Moses Annenberg,The Inquirer turned around. Annenberg added new features, increased staff and held promotions to increase circulation. By November 1938Inquirer's weekday circulation increased to 345,422 from 280,093 in 1936. During that same period theRecord's circulation had dropped to 204,000 from 328,322.
In 1939, Annenberg was charged withincome tax evasion. Annenberg pleaded guilty before his trial and was sentenced to three years in prison. While incarcerated, he fell ill and died from abrain tumor six weeks after his release from prison in June 1942.[11] Upon Moses Annenberg's death, his son,Walter Annenberg, took over.
In 1947, theRecord went out of business, andThe Philadelphia Inquirer emerged as Philadelphia's only major daily morning newspaper. While still trailing behind Philadelphia's largest newspaper, theEvening Bulletin,The Inquirer also continued to operate profitably.
In 1948, Walter Annenberg expanded the Inquirer Building with a new structure that housed new printing presses forThe Inquirer. During the 1950s and 1960s, Annenberg acquiredSeventeen magazine andTV Guide.[6]
In 1957, Annenberg bought thePhiladelphia Daily News and combined theDaily News' facilities withThe Inquirer's.
In 1958, a 38-day strike in 1958 hurtThe Inquirer and, following the strike, so many reporters had accepted buyout offers and left that the newsroom was noticeably empty, leaving many copy clerks with little experience responsible for reporting.
One of the few star reporters of the 1950s and 1960s was investigative reporterHarry Karafin, who exposed corruption and wrote exclusive stories forThe Inquirer, but alsoextorted money out of individuals and organizations. Karafin told sources that he had harmful information on them, and would demand money in exchange for him not making the information public.[10] This went on from the late 1950s into the early 1960s before Karafin was exposed in 1967 and was subsequently convicted of extortion a year later, in 1968. As the newspaper entered the 1970s, circulation and advertising revenue was declining, and the newspaper had become, asTime magazine reported, "uncreative and undistinguished."[12]
| Year | Weekday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|
| 1936[6] | 280,093 | 669,152 |
| 1938 | 345,422 | 1,035,871 |
| 1968 | 648,000 | 905,000 |
| 1984[12] | 533,000 | 995,000 |
| 1990[13] | 511,000 | 996,000 |
| 1999 | 402,000 | 802,000 |
| 2002[7] | 373,892 | 747,969 |
| 2006[14] | 350,457 | 705,965 |
| 2007[15] | 338,049 | 645,095 |
| 2019[16] | 101,818 | 201,024 |
In 1969,Samuel Newhouse offered Annenberg $55 million to acquireThe Inquirer. But having earlier promisedJohn S. Knight the right of first refusal to any sale, Annenberg instead sold the newspaper to Knight, andThe Inquirer andPhiladelphia Daily News became part of Knight Newspapers and its new subsidiary, Philadelphia Newspapers Inc. (PNI). Five years later, in 1974, Knight Newspapers merged with Ridder Publications to formKnight Ridder.[17]
WhenThe Inquirer was acquired, it was understaffed, its equipment was largely outdated, many of its employees were underskilled, and the newspaper trailed its chief competitor, theEvening Bulletin, in weekday circulation. In 1972, however,Eugene L. Roberts Jr. becameThe Inquirer's executive editor, and once again turned the newspaper around.[citation needed]
Between 1975 and 1990,The Inquirer won seventeenPulitzers, six of which were won in consecutive years between 1975 and 1980, and the newspaper won more journalism awards than any other newspaper in the United States.Time magazine namedThe Inquirer one of the ten best daily newspapers in the United States, calling Roberts' changes to the paper, "one of the most remarkable turnarounds, in quality and profitability, in the history of American journalism."[12]
In 1980,The Inquirer had emerged as the most circulated paper in Philadelphia, forcing theEvening Bulletin to shut down two years later. Between 1970 and 1985, however,The Inquirer experienced eleven strikes, the longest of which, in 1985, lasted 46 days.The Inquirer also faced criticism for its expanded international coverage, which ledTime magazine to report that it was covering "Karachi better thanKensington".[12]
Throughout the 1980s, however, the newspaper continued to grow. When theEvening Bulletin shut down in 1982,The Inquirer hired 17Bulletin reporters and doubled its bureaus to attract formerBulletin readers.[18] By 1989, Philadelphia Newspapers Inc.'s editorial staff reached a peak of 721 employees.[19]
In the 1990s,The Inquirer again confronted challenges with diminishing circulation and advertisement revenue. While part of a nationwide trend, the impact was exacerbated by, according to dissatisfiedInquirer employees, the newspaper resisting changes that many other daily newspapers implemented to keep readers and pressure from Knight Ridder to cut operating costs.[13]
During most of Roberts's time as editor, Knight Ridder allowed him a great deal of freedom in running the newspaper. In the late 1980s, however, Knight Ridder expressed concern aboutThe Inquirer's profitability and took a more active role in its operations. Knight Ridder pressuredThe Inquirer to expand into the more profitable Philadelphia suburbs, while at the same time cutting staff and coverage of national and international stories.[18] Some ofThe Inquirer's best reporters accepted buyouts, and left forThe New York Times andThe Washington Post. By the late 1990s, all of the high-level editors who had worked with Roberts in the 1970s and 1980s had left, none at normal retirement age.[citation needed]
Since the 1980s,The Philadelphia Inquirer has won three Pulitzers: a 1997 award for "Explanatory Journalism.",[20] the public service award (the top category) in 2012 for "its coverage of pervasive violence in the city's schools",[21] and the 2014 prize for criticism, won by the newspaper's architecture critic, Inga Saffron.[22]
In 1998,Inquirer reporter Ralph Cipriano filed alibel suit against Knight Ridder,The Philadelphia Inquirer, andInquirer editor Robert Rosenthal over comments Rosenthal made about Cipriano toThe Washington Post, claiming it was difficult reporting negative stories inThe Inquirer about theRoman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia.[23] Rosenthal later claimed that Cipriano had "a very strong personal point of view and an agenda...He could never prove (his stories)."[24] The suit was later settled out of court in 2001.[25]
In the early 21st century,The Philadelphia Inquirer launched an online news desk to compete with local Philadelphia radio stations in the coverage of breaking news.[26]: 48–49
In June 2006, Knight Ridder was acquired by its rival,The McClatchy Company.The Inquirer and thePhiladelphia Daily News were among the 12 least profitable Knight Ridder newspapers that McClatchy put up for sale in March 2006.[27]
On June 29, 2006,The Inquirer andDaily News were sold toPhiladelphia Media Holdings LLC (PMH), a group of Philadelphia-area business people, includingBrian Tierney, PMH's chief executive. The new owners announced plans to spend US$5 million on advertisements and promotions to increaseThe Inquirer's profile and readership.[28]
Following PMH's acquisition,The Inquirer advertising and other revenue, especially its national advertising revenue, fell considerably, and the newspaper's circulation also continued to fall. As a result, the newspaper's management cut 400 jobs atThe Inquirer andDaily News between 2006 and 2009.[29][30]
On February 21, 2009, despite cutting its operating costs, however, Philadelphia Newspapers LLC, filed forChapter 11 bankruptcy protection with the company holding approximately US$390 million in debt, much of which was borrowed to acquireThe Inquirer andDaily News.[31]
The bankruptcy filing kicked off a year-long dispute between Philadelphia Media Holdings and its creditors. Creditors, including banks andhedge funds, sought to take control of Philadelphia Newspapers LLC themselves and opposed efforts by Philadelphia Media Holdings to maintain control of the newspaper's operations.[32] Philadelphia Media Holdings was supported by most of the newspaper's unions. It also launched a public relations campaign to promote its continued control of the newspaper, highlighting the value of local ownership of media.[33]
On April 28, 2010, at a bankruptcy auction, the group of lending creditors and a group of local investors allied with Tierney both bid forThe Inquirer andDaily News. The lenders emerged with the winning bid for the newspapers,[34] but the deal collapsed after the lenders, operating under the name ofPhiladelphia Media Network (PMN), were unable to reach a contract agreement with the union representing the company's newspaper delivery drivers.[35]
Philadelphia Newspapers, represented by Lawrence G. McMichael of Dilworth Paxson LLP, challenged the right of creditors to credit bid at a bankruptcy auction. Their claim was ultimately heard by theU.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, which agreed that that credit bidding was not permitted.[citation needed]
In September 2010, both newspapers again were placed for auction, and again Philadelphia Media Network (PMN) won the bid. After successfully negotiating a contract with all of the newspaper's 14 unions, the $139 million deal was finalized on October 8.[36][37]
The Philadelphia Inquirer continued with profitability, largely due to emerging competition from digital media sources. By May 2012, the combined journalist staff at all of Philadelphia Media Network was about 320, and some of the same stories and photographs appear both inThe Inquirer andDaily News.[citation needed]
On April 2, 2012, a group of local business leaders paid $55 million for the newspaper, less than 15 percent of the $515 million spent to buy the papers in 2006.[38]
In June 2014, PMN was sold toH.F. "Gerry" Lenfest, who appointed C.Z. "Terry" Egger as publisher and chief executive officer four months later, in October 2015.[39]
In 2016, Lenfest donated PMN toThe Philadelphia Foundation, so thatThe Inquirer, its daily tabloid affiliate, theDaily News, and their joint website, Philly.com, could remain in Philadelphia.[40]
In October 2011, Philadelphia Media Network sold theInquirer Building to Bart Blatstein, a developer affiliated with Tower Investments Inc., who said he intended to turn the complex into amixed-use complex of offices retail and apartments. The following month, however, publisher and chief executive officer Gregory J. Osberg announced that 600 of the 740 Philadelphia Media Network employees ofThe Inquirer,Daily News, and Philly.com would move to office space in the formerStrawbridge & Clothier department store on eastMarket Street, and that the remaining employees would move to offices in the Philadelphia suburbs.[citation needed]
In July 2012, Philadelphia Media Network moved to the new location, consolidating its offices on the building's third floor. Cutbacks left much of the 525,000 square feet (49,000 m2) of the Inquirer Building empty, but the 125,000-square-foot (12,000 m2) east Market Street location consolidated Philadelphia Media's departments, including theDaily News's newsroom withThe Inquirer. The new location has a street-level lobby and event room. Plans for the building also included electronic signage such as anews ticker on the corner of theCenter City Philadelphia high-rise.[41][42]
In 2019, Philadelphia Media Network renamed Philly.com to Inquirer.com, and theDaily News was made an edition ofThe Inquirer. Philadelphia Media Network, in turn, was renamed The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC.[43]
In 2019,The Philadelphia Inquirer also became a founding member ofSpotlight PA, an investigative reporting partnership focused onPennsylvania.[44]
On June 2, 2020,The Inquirer ran anInga Saffron article covering theGeorge Floyd protests under the headline "Buildings Matter, Too",[45] a reference to property damage inflicted byBlack Lives Matter during the Floyd protests.[46]
On June 3, however, editors ofThe Inquirer apologized for the headline[47][48][49] and severalInquirer journalists wrote an open letter, alleging that the newspaper was failing to report accurately on the Philadelphia area's non-white communities. The letter demanded a plan for correcting these issues, threatening to call in "sick and tired" beginning the following day, June 4, if the concerns were not addressed. The letter read in part:[50]
We're tired of shouldering the burden of dragging this 200-year-old institution kicking and screaming into a more equitable age. We're tired of being told of the progress the company has made and being served platitudes about "diversity and inclusion" when we raise our concerns. We're tired of seeing our words and photos twisted to fit a narrative that does not reflect our reality. We're tired of being told to show both sides of issues there are no two sides of.
— Journalists of Color of The Philadelphia Inquirer
On June 4, as promised in their letter, over 40Inquirer staffers called in sick. Two days later, on June 6, the newspaper announced that Stan Wischnowski would resign as the newspaper's senior vice president and executive editor,[51][52] andInquirer journalists were told they would not have a say in his replacement.[53] In 2022, the paper admitted to its own racism, both in publishing the article and across the organization.[54]
In May 2023,The Philadelphia Inquirer was severely disrupted by acyberattack.[55]
In March 2025, theInquirer eliminated its Communities and Engagement Desk, which had covered marginalized communities since 2020.[56]
Since its founding in 1829,The Philadelphia Inquirer has asserted itself editorially on political issues of the day. In its earliest days, John Norvell left as editor of what was then theAurora & Gazette because he disagreed with what he felt was the newspaper's editorial approval of a movement towards a European class system.
When Norvell and John Walker foundedThe Inquirer, they wanted the newspaper to represent all people and not just its upper classes. The newly launched newspaper supported the ideology ofJeffersonian democracy and the political leadership of thenU.S. presidentAndrew Jackson, declaring support for the right of the minority's opinion to be heard.[6] In founding ofThe Inquirer, according to legend, Norvell said, "There could be no better name thanThe Inquirer. In a free state, there should always be an inquirer asking on behalf of the people: 'Why was this done? Why is that necessary work not done? Why is that man put forward? Why is that law proposed? Why? Why? Why?"[57]
When Norvell and Walker sold their newspaper to Jesper Harding, Harding kept the newspaper close to the founder's politics and supported theDemocratic Party. However, Harding disagreed with Andrew Jackson's handling of theSecond Bank of the United States, and he began supporting the anti-Jackson wing of the Democrats. During the1836 Presidential election, Harding supported theWhig party candidate over the Democratic candidate, which ledThe Inquirer to become known as a pro-Whig newspaper.[7]
Before theAmerican Civil War commenced in 1861The Inquirer supported the preservation of theUnion, and was critical of theabolitionist movement, which some felt was responsible for succession ofConfederate states.[58]: 404
Once the Civil War began,The Inquirer reported neutrally and independently on the war, but firmly supported the Union.[6] At first, editors ofThe Inquirer opposedemancipation. Following military setbacks of theUnion Army, however,The Inquirer began editorializing in support of a more pro-Union and pro-Republican stance. In a July 1862 article,The Inquirer wrote, "in this war there can be but two parties, patriots and traitors."[58]: 405
When James Elverson assumed leadership ofThe Inquirer, he declared, "the newInquirer shall be in all respects a complete, enterprising, progressive newspaper, moved by all the wide-awake spirit of the time and behind in nothing of interest to people who want to know what is going on every day and everywhere...steadily and vigorously Republican in its political policy, but just and fair in its treatment of all questions..."[6]
During the1900 Republican convention in Philadelphia, Elverson set up a large electric banner overBroad Street that declared "Philadelphia Inquirer – Largest Republican Circulation in the World."[7]
At the turn of the 20th century, the newspaper began editorial campaigns to improve Philadelphia, including the paving of major streets and ending what the newspaper saw as a corrupt plan to buy the pollutedSchuylkill Canal for drinking water. The newspaper maintained these editorial positions under Elverson's son, Elverson Jr.. By the 1920s,The Inquirer became known as the "Republican Bible of Pennsylvania".[6]
Between 1929 and 1936, while under Patenotre and Curtis-Martin,The Inquirer continued to support the Republican party andPresident Herbert Hoover, and did not provide much reporting onGreat Depression. Statistics on unemployment or business closings were ignored, even when they were conveyed by thefederal government. As some Philadelphia banks closed during the Great Depression, news of their closing was relegated to the back of the newspaper's financial section.
When Moses Annenberg assumed leadership ofThe Inquirer, he announced that the newspaper would "continue to uphold the principles of the Republican Party." But in a meeting with newspaper editors shortly after, he proposed that the paper go independent and supportPresident Franklin D. Roosevelt in the upcoming presidential election. The newspaper's editors at the time rejected this idea, and the paper remained largelyRepublican.
In the late 1930s, Annenberg disagreed with Roosevelt'sNew Deal programs and his handling of strikes, leading to editorials inThe Inquirer that criticized Roosevelt's policies and his supporters. Annenberg strongly opposedDemocraticPennsylvania governorGeorge Earle, andThe Inquirer supported Republican candidates in the 1938 Pennsylvania state elections. When Republicans swept the election, there was a celebration atThe Inquirer headquarters that included red flares and the firing of cannons. The attacks against Democrats and the support given Republicans caught the attention of theRoosevelt administration.
Under Annenberg,The Philadelphia Inquirer emerged as a major challenger toThe Record, which was supportive of Democrats. As Annenberg began focusing on politics, Democratic politicians often attacked Annenberg, accusing him of illegal business practices. In 1939, Annenberg was charged with income tax evasion. He pleaded guilty prior to his trial, and was sentenced to three years in prison. Annenberg's friends and his son, Walter, claimed that the entire trial was politically motivated and that his sentence was excessively harsh.[10]
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In 1947,The Record, the primary Philadelphia competitor ofThe Inquirer, ceased operations, andThe Inquirer announced that it would be an independent newspaper.Frustrated with corruption in Philadelphia,The Inquirer supported Democratic candidates in the 1951 election.[6]
While Walter Annenberg promised thatThe Inquirer would be politically independent, he still used the newspaper to attack people he disliked, sometimes including a person or group with whom he was angered. Annenberg then blacklisted the person or group, insisting that they not be mentioned inThe Inquirer. People on the blacklist were even airbrushed out of images. Annenberg's blacklist includedNicholas Katzenbach,Ralph Nader,Zsa Zsa Gabor, and thePhiladelphia Warriors, the city's professional basketball team at the time, who Annenberg insisted not be mentioned for an entire season.
In 1966, Walter Annenberg usedThe Inquirer to attack Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidateMilton Shapp. During a press conference, anInquirer reporter asked Shapp if he had ever been a patient in a mental hospital; having never been a patient, Shapp said no. The following day,The Inquirer's headline read, "Shapp Denies Rumors He Had Psychiatric Treatment in 1965."[59] Shapp attributed his loss of the election to Annenberg's attack campaign.[10]
Annenberg was a backer and friend ofRichard Nixon. In the1952 presidential election, critics later claimed Annenberg and the newspaper looked the other way when covering allegations related to Nixon's purported misappropriation of funds. Later, to avoid accusations of political bias, Annenberg hadThe Inquirer use only theAssociated Press and other news wire services in covering the1960 and1968 presidential elections in which Nixon was a candidate, losing in 1960 toJohn F. Kennedy and winning in 1968 in a three-way race againstHubert Humphrey andGeorge Wallace.[10]
After Nixon's election as president in 1968, he appointed AnnenbergU.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom. A year later, in 1969, Annenberg soldThe Inquirer to Knight Newspapers in a transaction that stipulated that Annenberg's name would appear as "Editor and Publisher Emeritus" onThe Inquirer'smasthead. In 1970, Annenberg, unhappy with the direction ofThe Inquirer under the new ownership, had his name removed from the newspaper's masthead following its publication of an editorial critical of Richard Nixon.[6]
Under Knight Ridder,The Inquirer continued to insist that it remained editorially independent, but the newspaper faced criticism fromconservatives, who labeled itleft leaning.[60][61] Although the Inquirer was known as the "Republican Bible of Pennsylvania" in the early 1900s, as of 2006,The Inquirer had not endorsed a Republican candidate for president for over a quarter century, when it endorsedGerald Ford in the1976 presidential election.[62][63]
Throughout the 1990s and into the 21st century, the newspaper also faced criticism for its coverage ofIsrael, including from theZionist Organization of America, which accusedThe Inquirer of beinganti-Israel.[64]
In 2006,The Inquirer became one of the only major United States newspapers to print one of theJyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons. Following its publication,Muslims picketed outsideThe Inquirer Building to protest their printing.[65]
When Philadelphia Media Holdings L.L.C. (PMH) bought the paper in 2006, Brian Tierney and the business people associated with PMH signed a pledge promising that they would not seek to influence the content of the newspaper. Tierney, a Republican advertising and public relations executive, had criticizedThe Inquirer in the past on behalf of his clients, including the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia, which he had represented.[66]
In 2012, the sale ofThe Inquirer to six local Philadelphia business leaders led to concerns of conflict of interest.[67] The new owners, which included New Jersey Democratic fundraiserGeorge Norcross III, media entrepreneur H. F. Lenfest, formerNew Jersey Nets ownerLewis Katz, and CEO ofLiberty Property Trust and chairman of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce William Hankowsky, pledged not to influence the content of the paper.[38]
The members of board of directors as of January 2025[68]
In March 2020, The NewsGuild of Greater Philadelphia and Philadelphia Inquirer LLC reached an agreement on a three-year contract agreement that would include a workforce diversity provision and raises for the entire newsroom, which had not seen across the board salary increases since August 2009.[69] NewsGuild membership ratified the three-year contract agreement on March 17, 2020.[70]
As of February 2021[update]The Inquirer has 225 newsroom employees. 54.7% of whom are male and 45.3% of whom are female.[71] Critics have alleged that the racial demographics of the newsroom, which is 75 percent White, does not match the city it covers, which is only 34% White.[72] However, these allegations appear to exclude the broader circulation of the newspaper, which stretches beyond the city of Philadelphia, which is approximately 60% White and approximately 20% Black.[73][74]
As of 2021, three quarters of the editors ofThe Inquirer were White.[75] As of 2023, three desks – Health, Investigations and Now – have no Black journalists.
The Philadelphia Inquirer is headquartered at 100 S. Independence Mall west in the Market East section ofCenter City Philadelphia, where its tabloid sister publication, thePhiladelphia Daily News is also headquartered.[42]
In September 1994,The Inquirer andWPHL-TV began co-producing a 10 p.m. newscast,Inquirer News Tonight, which lasted a year before WPHL-TV took complete control over the program and renamed itWB17 News at Ten.[76]
Since 1995,The Inquirer has been available on the Internet, most recently at Inquirer.com, which, along with thePhiladelphia Daily News, is part ofThe Philadelphia Inquirer LLC.[26]: 17, 21 [5]
In 2004,The Inquirer formed a partnership with Philadelphia'sNBC station,WCAU, giving the paper access to WCAU's weather forecasts while also contributing to news segments throughout the day.[77][78]
In 2020,The Inquirer closed its Schuylkill Printing Plant inUpper Merion Township, laying off about 500 employees. As of 2021[update], printing ofThe Inquirer and thePhiladelphia Daily News has been outsourced to a printing plant inCherry Hill, New Jersey, which is owned byGannett.[79]
As of January 2024[update],The Inquirer's publisher is Elizabeth H. Hughes,[80] and its editor and senior vice president is Gabriel Escobar.[81] Managing editors are Charlotte Sutton, Patrick Kerkstra, Richard G. Jones, Michael Huang, Kate Dailey and Danese Kenon. Deputy managing editors are Brian Leighton, James Neff, Ross Maghielse, Molly Eichel and Ariella Cohen.[82]
The Inquirer provides coverage of Philadelphia and its surrounding suburban communities in northernDelaware,South Jersey, and southeasternPennsylvania.
| Pulitzer Prizes awarded toThe Philadelphia Inquirer | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Award | Person(s) | Work | |
| 1975 | National Reporting | Donald Barlett andJames B. Steele | "Auditing theInternal Revenue Service" series | |
| 1976 | Editorial Cartooning | Tony Auth | "O beautiful for spacious skies, For amber waves of grain" | |
| 1977 | Local Investigative Specialized Reporting | Acel Moore andWendell Rawls, Jr. | Report on the conditions at the Fairview State Hospital for the mentally ill | |
| 1978 | Public Service | The Philadelphia Inquirer | A series of articles on the abuse of power by Philadelphia police | |
| 1979 | International Reporting | Richard Ben Cramer | Reports from the Middle East | |
| 1980 | Local General or Spot News Reporting | Staff ofThe Philadelphia Inquirer | Coverage of theThree Mile Island accident | |
| 1985 | Investigative Reporting | William K. Marimow | Exposé on the Philadelphia police K-9 unit | |
| 1985 | Feature Photography | Larry C. Price | Series of photographs fromAngola andEl Salvador | |
| 1986 | National Reporting | Arthur Howe | Report on deficiencies in IRS processing of tax returns-reporting | |
| 1986 | Feature Photography | Tom Gralish | Series of photographs on the homeless in Philadelphia | |
| 1987 | Investigative Reporting | John Woestendiek | Prisonbeat reporting | |
| 1987 | Investigative Reporting | Daniel R. Biddle,H. G. Bissinger andFredric N. Tulsky | "Disorder in the Court" | |
| 1987 | Feature Writing | Steve Twomey | Profile of life aboard an aircraft carrier | |
| 1988 | National Reporting | Tim Weiner | Series on a secret Pentagon budget used for defense research and an arms buildup | |
| 1989 | National Reporting | Donald Barlett andJames B. Steele | Investigation into theTax Reform Act of 1986 | |
| 1989 | Feature Writing | David Zucchino | "Being Black in South Africa" | |
| 1990 | Public Service | Gilbert M. Gaul | Report on the American blood industry | |
| 1997 | Explanatory Journalism | Michael Vitez,April Saul andRon Cortes | Series on the choices of the critically ill | |
| 2012 | Public Service | Staff ofThe Philadelphia Inquirer | "...exploration of pervasive violence in the city's schools" | |
| 2014 | Criticism | Inga Saffron | Criticism of architecture | |
| Source: The Pulitzer Prizes: Columbia University[83] | ||||
Notes
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Pulitzer Prize for Public Service (2001–2025) | ||
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Pulitzer Prize for Public Service (1976–2000) | ||
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