Bennett On 'Inquirer' Exit: 'It's Not Personal, It's Business'

By: Joe Strupp Amanda Bennett's departure from the Philadelphia Inquirer after more than three years at the helm came about by "mutual agreement," she told E&P this afternoon. Saying it was just time to move on, the veteran editor quoted "The Godfather," noting "It's not personal, it's just business."

"It feels right," she said just hours after the announcement that she would depart her post and be replaced by William Marimow, former editor of The Sun in Baltimore who spent more than 20 years at the Inquirer. "Everyone realized it is time to move on."

Bennett hinted that she had known her time at the paper would be limited shortly after the former Knight Ridder property was purchased by Philadelphia Newspaper Holdings, and Publisher Brian Tierney, last summer. "Brian has said, and it is absolutely true, that this conversation has been going on for a very long time," she said when asked how long she had discussed her future.

As word of the editor change spread through the newsroom, staffers were unsure about the future given so much upheaval, but remained optimistic that Marimow, whom they consider experienced and respected, would come in. "It is a potentially brilliant strategic move by our esteemed owners," said Monica Yant Kinney, a columnist and 10-year staffer, when asked about the new editor choice. "If you want to get the newsroom off your back, bring in someone like Bill Marimow - he is revered around here."

Marimow, who could not be reached for comment, is expected to take over day-to-day operations before the end of the month. Bennett said she would remain at the Inquirer until the end of the year. "I may be writing a column," she speculated. "I don't know what I will be doing."

After she leaves the Inquirer, Bennett will become a visiting fellow at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. She said the exact nature of the fellowship is unknown, but will take place next semester.

After that, "I'll be looking for something else," Bennett said. "Either inside or outside of journalism." The departing editor said she believed the paper had improved under her watch. "It's been tough, but we've made the paper better," she declared. "We refocused the investigative staff. My mantra has been that if you cut, you cut from the bottom, not the top."

Cuts are one issue that the paper has seen too often in recent years, having to reduce a 500-person staff by 85 in the past year, and facing recent predictions by Tierney that another 150 jobs could go.

Columnist John Grogan, a four-year veteran, agreed. "I think there is a sense of optimism around the newspaper that Bill is going to bring a fresh perspective and energy into the newsroom," he said. "He was here for many years and is a well-respected working journalist, and a hard-news guy."

For Mike Klein, a 20-year Inquirer staffer in the feature section, said the move offers at least a mixed signal. But he said having Marimow in charge makes it easier to accept. "Bill is a great journalist with a wonderful local commitment," he said.

Some staffers, meanwhile, said that Bennett may not have improved the paper enough during her time to give a new owner reason to keep her on. "The general sentiment was there was not as much impact on the paper as some people expected given her credentials," Yant Kinney said about Bennett, a former editor at the Lexington Herald Leader whose experience also includes The Wall Street Journal. "It is hard to know if she got swept up in all of the larger problems of the paper, or got swept up in the paper, a place this big and complex."

Another staffer, who requested anonymity, agreed with the assessment of Bennett trying to make a difficult situation work. "My sense is that she never quite fit in the skin of being an editor at a paper this size," the writer said.