New hire to foster 'journalism innovation' at Temple

Temple University's School of Media and Communication has received a $2 million grant to create a new endowed chair in "journalism innovation" named after James B. Steele, a Pulitzer Prize winning investigative reporter formerly of the  Inquirer.

The university has hired Aron Pilhofer, executive editor of digital for The Guardian and a former editor of digital strategy for The New York Times, to fill the post, the university announced Tuesday.

Pilhofer will start in October.

"The chance to inspire and educate a new generation of journalists was too good to pass up and the fact that this position is associated with one of my heroes, Jim Steele, is the icing on the cake," Pilhofer said in a statement.

The chair is being funded in part by the Wyncote Foundation of Philadelphia, according to the university.

"This chair, with Aron Pilhofer as its first appointment, signals that the future of journalism and its critical role in democracy will have a dynamic platform in Philadelphia at Temple University," David Haas, one of the Wyncote Foundation's directors, said in a statement. "We expect great synergies within the rich journalism ecosystem emerging in our region, and are excited by the depth of experience and energy that Aron will bring."

Wyncote asked that the chair be named for Steele, who also has been an investigative reporter for Time and Vanity Fair magazines. Steele, who was a pioneer in the use of databases in reporting, won two Pulitzer prizes with his reporting partner, Donald Barlett.

Pilhofer currently is responsible for visual and data journalism at The Guardian, which launched its digital edition in the United States in 2011. He has held that position since June 2014. Before joining The Guardian, he worked in several roles at the New York Times, beginning in 2005. He previously was database editor at the Center for Public Integrity in Washington and was on the national training staff of Investigative Reporters and Editors.

He also co-founded DocumentCloud.org, which helps to make source documents easier to find, search and analyze, and Hacks & Hackers, which fosters communication between journalists and technology experts.

At Temple, he will teach and work with local media companies on innovations to improve their public-interest journalism, Boardman said.

"This is a profoundly important hire for our university and for the Philadelphia region," said David Boardman, dean of the media and communication school. "Getting Aron here is the equivalent of having the number-one pick in the NBA draft. He will be a game-changer for our students and for journalism in our community."