The Lenfest Institute for Journalism is a journalism-related nonprofit and grantmaking foundation most notable for being the owner of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The institute was founded by Gerry Lenfest, a Philadelphia-based former cable television executive who was among the largest grantmakers in the Philadelphia area. Lenfest was the most recent individual owner of the Inquirer and transferred ownership to the Lenfest Institute and left funds to endow the organization.
The institute is the non-controlling sole owner of the Inquirer, which operates as a Public Benefit Corporation. The institute also provides grants to other organizations in the Philadelphia area and Pennsylvania, runs training programs, and runs a nonprofit newsroom in the state capital of Harrisburg covering the Pennsylvania state government. 1 2 3
Background
The Lenfest Institute for Journalism was founded in 2016 by cable television businessman Gerry Lenfest, who was among the most prolific philanthropists in Philadelphia before his death in 2018, giving over $1.3 billion in the decades after selling his family’s cable company. In addition to transferring ownership of the Philadelphia Inquirer to the institute, Lenfest gifted the institute an initial endowment of $20 million which the institute says has since been supplemented by other donors. 4
In addition to being the owner of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the group provides grants and accepts funding from other organizations to provide funds to the “Philadelphia News Ecosystem.” The institute also founded Spotlight PA, a newsroom in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania’s state capital, that provides reporting about state government to 80 other newspapers and digital news startups free of charge. 5
Philadelphia Inquirer
Since 2016, the Lenfest Institute for Journalism has been the sole owner of the Philadelphia Inquirer, joining the Tampa Bay Times, which is owned by the Poynter Institute, as the only two major newspapers operating under the public benefit corporation (PBC) model. 6
In 2019, the Inquirer management “made it clear nonprofit ownership hasn’t magically fixed the paper’s ails” as it approached the local union with the need for 30 employees to take buyouts to avoid layoffs. The leadership also “sent out a staff memo warning that they were at risk of facing an “empty future” in five years if no changes were made.” 7
Local reporting also described challenges that IRS regulations had on the operation of the Inquirer, stating that the institute cannot directly cover the operational costs and net loss and that “The IRS also often doesn’t look kindly on a nonprofit that seems to only support one specific business. So Lenfest spreads its giving to a number of Philadelphia-area news outlets and addresses many of its efforts at local newspapers and outlets nationwide.” 8
Leadership
Jim Freidlich is the executive director and CEO of the Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Friedlich was previously CEO of Empirical Media Advisors, a consulting firm that was hired by dozens of large publicans to oversee their “digital transformation.” Friedlich also previously managed global advertising sales, consumer marketing, and business development for a group of Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones and Company newspapers, magazines, websites, cable TV channels, and conferences, and sat on the board of directors of CNBC. 9
References
- “About.” Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Accessed September 11, 2023. https://www.lenfestinstitute.org/about/
- Schmidt, Christine. “Three years into nonprofit ownership, The Philadelphia Inquirer is still trying to chart its future.” Nieman Lab. August 22, 2019. Accessed September 11, 2023. https://www.niemanlab.org/2019/08/three-years-into-nonprofit-ownership-the-philadelphia-inquirer-is-still-trying-to-chart-its-future/
- Dobrin, Peter. “H.F. “Gerry” Lenfest.” Philadelphia Inquirer. August 5, 2018. Accessed September 11, 2023. https://www.inquirer.com/obituaries/inq/hf-gerry-lenfest-philadelphia-philanthropist-dies-88-20180805.html
- “About.” Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Accessed September 11, 2023. https://www.lenfestinstitute.org/about/
- “About.” Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Accessed September 11, 2023. https://www.lenfestinstitute.org/about/
- “About.” Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Accessed September 11, 2023. https://www.lenfestinstitute.org/about/
- Schmidt, Christine. “Three years into nonprofit ownership, The Philadelphia Inquirer is still trying to chart its future.” Nieman Lab. August 22, 2019. Accessed September 11, 2023. https://www.niemanlab.org/2019/08/three-years-into-nonprofit-ownership-the-philadelphia-inquirer-is-still-trying-to-chart-its-future/
- Schmidt, Christine. “Three years into nonprofit ownership, The Philadelphia Inquirer is still trying to chart its future.” Nieman Lab. August 22, 2019. Accessed September 11, 2023. https://www.niemanlab.org/2019/08/three-years-into-nonprofit-ownership-the-philadelphia-inquirer-is-still-trying-to-chart-its-future/
- “Jim Friedlich.” Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Accessed September 11, 2023. https://www.lenfestinstitute.org/profile/jim-friedlich/