Stan Wischnowski Named Editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer

PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 21, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Stan Wischnowski has been named editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer, effective immediately.  Wischnowski has been serving as Acting Editor since October 8 when the Philadelphia Media Network (PMN) completed its acquisition of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News and Philly.com.

"As Acting Editor, Stan exhibited the leadership and news judgment required to manage the dominant newspaper serving the fourth largest media market in the U.S.," said Greg Osberg, Publisher and Chief Executive Officer of Philadelphia Media Network.  "Today, I am pleased to announce that Stan will become the Editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer.  Stan will be introducing new content in the paper early next year and he will be working closely with Philly.com to launch several exciting interactive experiences on the various platforms within the Philadelphia Media Network.  I look forward to working with Stan in further revitalizing The Philadelphia Inquirer by focusing its content on relevant stories impacting the Philadelphia region and embracing and accelerating digital innovation."

Under Wischnowski's direction as Acting Editor over the past nine weeks, The Inquirer has pursued several investigative projects, including a continued examination of the city's criminal court system, the Philadelphia Housing Authority, the City School District's contract bidding process and the city's hunger crisis.   Wischnowski has also helped develop a multimedia and integration strategy for PMN in collaboration with the lead editors for the Daily News and Philly.com.  In 2009, he supervised an effort to create a high school website, Rally, on Philly.com, which attracted nine million page views during its debut season.

"This is a tremendous opportunity and I appreciate the confidence that Greg (Osberg) has placed in me," said Wischnowski.  "The hallmark of The Inquirer is the rich tradition of investigative work, which we hold to the highest of standards and distinguishes us from all other media in the region.  Going forward, my goal is to build on that history, developing deeper connections with our readers, within our community and a wider, national audience.  We've done some of our best work of the year in recent weeks and that is a tribute to the spirit and dedication of our staff.  It is an exciting time to be at The Inquirer and our reporters and editors have shown a great willingness to embrace all forms of new media, allowing us to break news and make news in print, online and via mobile devices."  

Wischnowski, 48, arrived at The Inquirer in 2000 after working at newspapers in New York, Michigan and Illinois.  During his time at The Inquirer, he organized the paper's election coverage and several special sections, won a national page design award for the paper's 9/11 coverage, served as chair of the paper's 2006 newsroom reorganization committee and was selected for the Knight-Ridder Leadership Development Program.

As a deputy managing editor at The Inquirer, Wischnowski supervised the entire night operation, directed the paper's afternoon editors meeting, managed the development of the front page and represented the newsroom as a member of the company's operating committee.  In 2008, Wischnowski was given the added title of Vice President for Shared Services, responsible for combining important production functions of The Inquirer and Daily News.  In addition, Wischnowski has been responsible for managing the newsroom's budget and most recently was the management's lead representative for The Inquirer and Daily News during Guild contract negotiations this summer.

Before arriving at The Inquirer, Wischnowski was an editor at the Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle.  He started there as the Page One Editor, became Deputy Managing Editor for News and was then promoted to Acting Managing Editor.  Before working in Rochester, he held a variety of editing roles at The Detroit News and Lansing State Journal.

Wischnowski is a 1984 graduate of Western Illinois University and resides in West Chester with his wife and three college-aged children.

About Philadelphia Media Network

Philadelphia Media Network, Inc. (PMN) is the owner of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News, and Philly.com.  PMN publishes the region's largest newspaper network and is focused on integrating its brand platforms with the goal of serving as a technological leader and innovator in the digital future.  The Philadelphia Media Network reaches an average weekly audience of 2.2 million adults – more that the 3 evening TV news shows or top 10 radio stations drive-time programming combined.

SOURCE Philadelphia Media Network, Inc.