Some of you have asked my thoughts on yesterday's announced sale of Philadelphia Newspapers, Inc. to a group of Philly-area investors led by Brian Tierney. Keep in mind that the Inquirer puts food on my table, so I won't front: I'm choosing to be positive. These guys are saying the right things, so it seems to me the most sensible approach is to take the position that this can be a good thing -- if the people working there choose to make it so.
Let the haters hate, and call me optimistically cautious.
Other thoughts:
* LOVE the idea of being free of Wall Street. Love love love love love it.
* Loving the idea that local people, with their business and personal reputations on the line, are going to be in charge. It will be important to them that the Inquirer and Daily News "brands" have a good reputation and are first-class operations. The key is combining Philly balls with Philadelphia class.
* I"m wondering about the fate of 400 N. Broad -- prime real estate, gorgeous building, and wouldn't it make beautiful high-end condos? I'm talking to you, Bruce Toll. It would seem almost too convenient for them to leave the DN a few floors and move the Inquirer operation to Conshohocken. I'd like to see some kind of statement on that from the new mahoffs.
* I want the Inquirer to be an aggressive regional paper with an aggressively regional voice, which reflects the entire Philadelphia area.
* Local, real-time blog-based coverage written from an aggressively local standpoint will create new readers and allow for communication with Inquirer readers ALL DAY LONG. Get people used to checking in to philly.com during the day, or while they're watching the game at night, and you can free up print columns by removing some of the stuff that's old by the next morning. Make the print editions -- and not the web content -- the premium product, where the analysis, in-depth investigations and storytelling are done.
* I'm wondering how a new emphasis on "local" coverage is going to go over, in a newsroom with a large population of with "been there, done that" mid- and late-career reporters.
* The idea of new weeklies sounds exciting and could be great, if they are going to be quality products and not advertorial. There must be an understanding that new publications, must have quality reporting, writing and editing, of a type that reflects the Inquirer's standards. Weeklies can't just be a dumping ground for local classifieds, community calendar listings, grip'n'grin photos and the 4-H Fair schedule.
New publications present many opportunities for the paper to gain new local advertising, from smaller regional businesses -- especially in the suburbs -- that might otherwise be priced out of the daily or Sunday papers.
And it goes without saying that new publications will require appropriate staffing. That speaks for itself. This is a prime opportunity to hire a bunch of young, cheap reporters that the two larger papers can train, and call up later. Fill the pipeline.
* I'm not as concerned as some out there about Brian Tierney's past, in which he represented groups that fought the local media (and often the Inquirer in particular) tooth and nail. Look, this guy is a businessman, and taking positions for his clients was his business. That doesn't mean he drank the Kool-Aid, it means he was good at his job. If he shows half that much passion in turning the Inquirer into a paper as innovative, intelligent and important as the city it represents, then the journalists working for him will be fortunate indeed.
* Quote of the week, from the Guild's statement on the sale (emphasis mine):
"Philadelphia Media Holdings should understand that Knight Ridder has already made substantial cuts in staffing and operations, and that profitability and quality cannot be regained through additional diminishment of the enterprise and its employees. The papers must enter a period of reinvestment, and a shared, common effort. Everyone needs to be respected in that process, especially the community of Philadelphia."
* AJR piece.
