What Next for 'Philly Inquirer'?

By: Lucia Moses When Walker Lundy was plucked from the Saint Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press in late 2001 to be editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer, nobody expected him to stick around a very long time. He was 58, and the job wouldn't be easy -- the newsroom was demoralized by years of declining circulation, a shifting news coverage strategy, staff cuts, and the recent departure of a well-liked editor, Robert J. "Rosey" Rosenthal, now managing editor of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Still, Lundy's announcement on May 12 that he would retire after a year and a half into the job was seen as premature, and represents another setback for a newspaper just starting to find some stability in its executive ranks and circulation reports.

Editor tenure at the paper has become ever shorter in recent decades. Henry J. Holcomb, president of the Newspaper Guild of Greater Philadelphia, which represents Inquirer news and business employees, said there's a sense of "Here we go again." Added Zachary Stalberg, editor of the Inky's sibling Philadelphia Daily News, "People are feeling socked. They thought that was one thing [Lundy] people could count on. Now we're looking at a whole new period of change."

Robert Hall, publisher of Philadelphia Newspapers Inc., the Knight Ridder unit that runs the Inquirer and Daily News, moved to reassure staff that the development wouldn't change the paper's commitment to the Lundy plan that devotes more reporting resources to the suburbs, which the paper has identified as key to circulation growth.

Hall said in an interview that he was happy with Lundy's progress. The broadsheet Inquirer's circulation has turned around during his tenure: It rose 1.5% weekdays, to 386,890, and 1.1% Sunday, to 768,237, in the six months ended March 31.

In a staff memo announcing his retirement, Lundy cited a desire to enjoy other pastimes, and he has previously mentioned wanting to write. But the announcement prompted speculation that financial constraints influenced his decision. Just last month, the paper announced it was folding its century-old Sunday magazine to cut costs in the face of weak advertising revenue. Long term, the paper plans to raise its profit margin from the mid- to upper teens to the mid-20s.

While Lundy "put up a good corporate face," Holcomb said, it was "pretty clear when we met across the table with him over killing the Sunday magazine that it was a very painful decision to make."

Hall denied that the magazine's closing or financial pressure played into Lundy's decision, saying, "Everybody's faced with it. ... It's the economy. I don't think it was an issue with Walker."