Bennett Out as Editor at 'Inky,' Marimow Takes Over

By: E&P Staff The newspaper industry, still staggering from the ouster of Dean Baquet as editor of the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday, was rocked again today with news that Philadelphia Inquirer Editor Amanda Bennett will step down after three years.

Bill Marimow, a former Inquirer city editor -- now at Natonal Public Radio -- will be the Inquirer's new editor.

"Bennett's departure comes amid sometimes-tense union contract negotiations, and a request by the paper's senior management to its editors to plan for as many as 150 job cuts," the Inquirer reports this afternoon on its Web site.

Before NPR, Marimow was editor of The Sun in Baltimore.

Bennett was the paper's first female editor, but arrived as more job cuts were about to come down. She then survived through the sale of Knight Ridder to McClatchy. She will exit at the end of the year.

"In May, Philadelphia Media Holdings Inc. paid $515 million for the Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News and philly.com," the Inquirer points out. "At the time, chief executive Brian P. Tierney said Bennett and other senior editors would keep their jobs for the time being."

Tierney said in a statement today: "We are pleased to return a journalist to Philadelphia who has proven himself as a Pulitzer Prize-winning beat reporter, as a bureau chief, as a managing editor and as an editor-in-chief. Bill's background and unique set of skills made him the perfect individual to lead The Inquirer into its next great era of journalism."

"I am very proud of the extraordinary journalism we have done during the three-and-a-half years that I was editor -- particularly our
investigative work on such topics as pay-to-play, corruption, violence and child sex abuse," Bennett said in a statement. "We refocused the paper's coverage on the region's health and medical and business assets, and dramatically changed the way we delivered the news -- embracing the Web and changing ourselves from a newspaper to a news organization, providing news in whatever format readers want.

"Brian Tierney and his local owners are deeply committed to this
community. This is a historic newspaper with dedicated, passionate
journalists who will always find a way to expose wrong and serve the community," continued Bennett. "Bill Marimow is a fine journalist, and old friend. The paper is in good hands."

Also, from the release: "Following the model of several other large city newspapers, Mr. Tierney also announced that Chris Satullo, editor of the editorial page, will report directly to the publisher. Previously, Satullo reported to the editor."

Said Marimow: "Philadelphia is my hometown, and the Inquirer is where I learned how to be a reporter. Returning to this great city and this excellent newspaper is an honor and a thrill. I'll do everything possible to build on the Inquirer's great tradition and history."