Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
Editorials & Other Articles
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Media
Related: About this forumTop Editor of Philadelphia Inquirer Resigns After 'Buildings Matter' Headline
Source: New York Times
Top Editor of Philadelphia Inquirer Resigns After Buildings Matter Headline
Stan Wischnowski, a 20-year veteran of the paper, stepped down days after the publication of an article that led to a walkout by dozens of Inquirer journalists.
By Marc Tracy
June 6, 2020
Updated 10:30 p.m. ET
Stan Wischnowski, the top editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer, resigned on Saturday, days after an article with the headline Buildings Matter, Too, on the effects of civil unrest on the citys buildings, led to a walkout by dozens of staff members.
Lisa Hughes, the publisher of The Inquirer, the 191-year-old daily controlled by the nonprofit Lenfest Institute for Journalism, said Saturday in a memo to the staff that she had accepted Mr. Wischnowskis decision to step down after 10 years across two stints as the leader of one of the countrys largest newsrooms.
The headline of the article a column by The Inquirers architecture critic, Inga Saffron, that was published on Tuesday played on the slogan Black Lives Matter, long a rallying cry for civil rights activists protesting police violence against African Americans. It has been a key phrase for demonstrators in the nearly two weeks of protests across the country and in cities worldwide since a black man in Minneapolis, George Floyd, died last month after being handcuffed and pinned to the ground by a white police officers knee.
The day after the Inquirer article was published, the papers top editors, including Mr. Wischnowski, who had worked at the paper for 20 years, issued an apology that appeared on its website.
The Philadelphia Inquirer published a headline in Tuesdays edition that was deeply offensive. We should not have printed it, the editors wrote. Were sorry, and regret that we did. We also know that an apology on its own is not sufficient.
-snip-
Stan Wischnowski, a 20-year veteran of the paper, stepped down days after the publication of an article that led to a walkout by dozens of Inquirer journalists.
By Marc Tracy
June 6, 2020
Updated 10:30 p.m. ET
Stan Wischnowski, the top editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer, resigned on Saturday, days after an article with the headline Buildings Matter, Too, on the effects of civil unrest on the citys buildings, led to a walkout by dozens of staff members.
Lisa Hughes, the publisher of The Inquirer, the 191-year-old daily controlled by the nonprofit Lenfest Institute for Journalism, said Saturday in a memo to the staff that she had accepted Mr. Wischnowskis decision to step down after 10 years across two stints as the leader of one of the countrys largest newsrooms.
The headline of the article a column by The Inquirers architecture critic, Inga Saffron, that was published on Tuesday played on the slogan Black Lives Matter, long a rallying cry for civil rights activists protesting police violence against African Americans. It has been a key phrase for demonstrators in the nearly two weeks of protests across the country and in cities worldwide since a black man in Minneapolis, George Floyd, died last month after being handcuffed and pinned to the ground by a white police officers knee.
The day after the Inquirer article was published, the papers top editors, including Mr. Wischnowski, who had worked at the paper for 20 years, issued an apology that appeared on its website.
The Philadelphia Inquirer published a headline in Tuesdays edition that was deeply offensive. We should not have printed it, the editors wrote. Were sorry, and regret that we did. We also know that an apology on its own is not sufficient.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/06/business/media/editor-philadephia-inquirer-resigns.html
3 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Top Editor of Philadelphia Inquirer Resigns After 'Buildings Matter' Headline (Original Post)
Eugene
Jun 2020
OP
PoindexterOglethorpe
(26,826 posts)1. Good.
Because right now "buildings matter" isn't something.
People's lives matter.
Loki Liesmith
(4,602 posts)2. Shouldn't have
It was a dumb opinion but I do not like the precedent.
whathehell
(29,864 posts)3. Should have. The opinion is hardly just "dumb"
It's grossly offensive in equating the value of human life with that of buildings.