We’ve been keeping an eye on developments with the Philadelphia Inquirer, which is currently undergoing the newspaper version of a mid-life crisis. By now you know that employees revolted last summer, the editor resigned, and then a report from Temple University, commissioned by the paper, revealed that the operation was too white, too male, and not diverse enough across the board.

What’s happened in the following year is that more of the old school folks have taken buyouts and/or retired and moved on. Just this summer, Les Bowen, Paul Domowitch, Marc Narducci, Ed Barkowitz, Frank Fitzpatrick, and Bob Brookover decided to leave the sports department, which has resulted in an influx of younger writers that addresses the female/POC deficiency as determined by the independent study.

Those buyouts and departures were not restricted to the sports staff, though, and now the Inky is hiring for 40+ jobs at their careers page.

Among those gigs are two sports editor jobs, one which is old and I think has already been filled. The other, however, was posted six days ago and doesn’t even have a description, but says this:

Sports – Deputy Sports Editor

Philadelphia, PA, USA Req #145

 Tuesday, July 27, 2021

Deputy Sports Editor

That’s all it says when you click on the link. Might be an error because every other job has a lengthy description. attached to it.

It does make you wonder about the new structure in the sports department. My understanding is that it’s going to be ESPN style, with an editor for each sport. Michael Huang replaced Pat McLoone at the very top, but Gary Potosky was seen as the #2 in the department and if he’s staying then I’m not sure what this deputy editor is going to be doing.

There’s also a new project called “A More Perfect Union” which is hiring for two reporters and an editor. It’s described like this:

“Over the next year, The Philadelphia Inquirer will embark on an ambitious project examining the legacy of All-American institutions founded and forged in Philadelphia. Edited by Errin Haines, the project will trace the throughline of inequality and institutional racism from the origins of these institutions to today, focusing on the impact on contemporary Philadelphians.”

There’s no salary information for these jobs, at least not that I see. I did not take the extra step to create an account and apply, so it might be mentioned in there somewhere.

I’ve failed to mention in previous Inquirer stories that a lot of the people leaving the sports department (and other areas) were making good money. We’re talking six-figure union jobs. Really desirable gigs. I’m sure the powers that be are using this opportunity not just to get more diverse and address the concerns of the Temple study, but to also bring down salaries and trim payroll a bit. One of the new writers graduated from college in 2019, so I can’t imagine she’s commanding anything close to what Domo was making. But if she is, then good for her! You have to “get the bag” as the kids like to say. I want to “get the bag” as well.