Is there life after the newsroom? The Philadelphia Inquirer Reunion
Is there life after the newsroom? Is there a future for newspapers? Is the beer cold?
That was what was on the minds of 300+ colleagues from the Gene Roberts era of The Philadelphia Inquirer (1972-1990) as they gathered for a reunion on a hot, sunny day outside Philadelphia last weekend.
The answers: Yes! Sort of … and, oh yeah!
It was an Irish wake for the sort of swashbuckling journalism I was lucky enough to be a part of during my own tenure at the Inky (1982-1999). Surprisingly, there was much sweet, and seemingly little bitter. It had something to do with the beer, no doubt. The fact that most of the attendees no longer work at The Inquirer, which has been decimated by rounds of buyouts and layoffs since 2005, also was a factor.
But most of the good cheer at the gathering was due to the creativity, camaraderie and sense of purpose that Roberts and his deputy, Jim Naughton, nourished in The Inquirer newsroom — and the journalism that flourished as a result. “I think for at least 10 to 12 of those years we were putting out the most interesting paper in America,” said former Metro Editor Steve Seplow. “[It] may have not been the most complete – but it was the most interesting, the most imaginative, and did some of the greatest journalism. And it’s amazing how much warmth is still here, how much commitment there was to doing it. And you can feel it here.”
Those Were the Days
