Inquirer parent announces changes at papers, website

Pledging constant "enhancements" to the company and its products, Gregory J. Osberg, publisher and chief executive officer of Philadelphia Media Network Inc., announced initiatives Monday meant to broaden the appeal of The Inquirer, the Philadelphia Daily News, and Philly.com.

Among the changes will be a new sports column in the Daily News by former Gov. Ed Rendell. His first will be published Wednesday. In an intracompany trade, columnist Michael Smerconish - who has been published on Thursdays in the Daily News - will move to The Inquirer on Page A2 on Fridays. He will retain his Sunday opinion column in the Currents section. Former Newsweek columnist Julia Baird will appear Tuesdays in The Inquirer on A2.

Inquirer editor Stan Wischnowski said the paper had revamped Pages A2 and A3 with more local and original content, with the intent of the two pages functioning as a "gateway" - after the front page - to the A section. He said the A-section changes would enhance coverage of four key topics: politics, health care, education, and the economy.

The Inquirer also began publishing on Monday a redesigned business section that highlights a different topic each day, Monday through Friday.

In a news conference, Osberg said Philadelphia Media Network "will no longer operate as a newspaper company" but as a network of editorial platforms that includes the newspapers, a website, mobile apps, mobile Web, social media, iPad apps, and digital editions. He said he intended to "build the most successful regional media company in the United States."

The announcements were made the same day the company boosted the daily newsstand price of The Inquirer and the Daily News to $1 per copy. The price is unchanged for home-delivery customers, who represent the majority of The Inquirer's circulation.

The Philly.com site will be redesigned this year, said Wendy Warren, vice president of content and site editor. Warren said the site would remain free to users, but readers who would like to experience a newspaperlike read on the Internet could purchase "digital editions" of The Inquirer and the Daily News.

The digital editions cost $2.99 a week, but for the next two-weeks, a trial period, they are free.

Philadelphia Media Network has retained Jim Brady, former executive editor of washingtonpost.com, as a consultant to assist in developing the strategic direction of Philly.com. That will include the redesign, creating media partnerships, and focusing on opportunities to expand local content.

In a technology upgrade, the company is supplying Inquirer and Daily News reporters with 300 new laptops and 300 new iPhones. The iPhones will enable reporters to take photos and create video. Photographers will be supplied with new cameras for both still photography and video.

Philadelphia Media Network has signed a letter of intent to make content from the weekly CityPaper available through Philly.com, and has entered into a business, printing, and distribution arrangement with the Onion, a satirical newspaper and website. It will involve no editorial partnering.

The new owner of The Inquirer, the Daily News, and Philly.com is a group of financial institutions that assumed control of the company in October after a bankruptcy process.