Philadelphia newspapers donated to newly created nonprofit

The billionaire owner of The Philadelphia Inquirer, the third-oldest surviving newspaper in the United States, has donated the newspaper to a non-profit in an attempt to allow it “to continue long-term in the new digital age”. “I’ve tried to do right by it. Perhaps the greatest opportunity came with the ownership of these newspapers”, he told staff and others on Tuesday. But it should, at a minimum, provide a measure of stability at The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News, and Philly.com, which have been plagued by a series of ownership changes in recent years.

The tax-exempt institute, jumpstarted by a $20 million endowment from Lenfest, will solicit additional funding and act as an in-house grant-maker for reporting projects and journalism innovation, eventually also awarding grants outside of PMN. Howard Gensler, the president of the local Newspaper Guild, expressed concerns on that score in a good post by Joel Mathis of Philadelphia magazine.

In November, the outlets’ parent company, Philadelphia Media Network (PMN), announced it was laying off more than 40 staffers in order to cut costs – something this new plan is obviously trying to avoid in the future. That, in turn, can support public-interest reporting at The Inquirer, the Daily News, and Philly.com.

This disclosure, H.F. “Gerry” Lenfest is a significant donor to WHYY. Lenfest, chairman of Philadelphia Media Network (PMN), center, and Terry Egger, publisher and CEO of PMN, sit before a press conference at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pa., Tuesday Jan. 12, 2016. At the same time, the media company will not be hampered by political restrictions that come with being a nonprofit, and it will be forced to remain a viable financial business. The outlets will remain for-profit and the editorial functions at all three will remain independent of the institute.

It would join a small number of newspaper operations run by nonprofits or trusts, such as the Tampa Bay Times in St. Petersburg, Fla., a for-profit operation owned by the Poynter Institute, and the Day, a New London, Conn., newspaper held in a public trust. “It’s not a bailout”.

Lenfest, who bought the news company for $88 million in May 2014 at auction, said it “must meet readers where they choose to read – and find fresh ways for advertisers to engage that audience”, Philly.com reported.

“It’s still going to be scrambling for ever-diminishing revenues, but there is now a bit of a safety net”, said Victor Pickard, a professor who studies media institutions at the University of Pennsylvania. They can use it to fund the journalistic enterprise, or give part or all of it to the institute.