PHILLY DOT COM EDITORIAL:The Inquirer, the Daily News, and Philly.com have had occasion over the past decade to try out a wide array of what are politely termed “ownership models,” from publicly traded corporations to vulture capitalists to political power brokers. For all their diverse approaches and agendas, these many masters have consistently reduced the company’s complement of journalists and often brought about turmoil and uncertainty.

H.F. “Gerry” Lenfest’s newly announced transfer of the company to a nonprofit foundation holds tremendous promise in light of this dark recent history – not only to end the endless ownership shuffle, but also to prevent further deterioration of the company’s power to produce independent, responsible, robust journalism, as well as position it to keep doing so in a rapidly changing business.

Lenfest, the cable mogul turned philanthropist who helped retrieve The Inquirer’s parent company from post-bankruptcy hedge-fund ownership and then a fractious group that included South Jersey Democratic boss George Norcross, announced what may prove to be his greatest gift to the enterprise Tuesday: giving it away. Lenfest has donated the company and a $20 million endowment to a newly created media institute under the umbrella of the Philadelphia Foundation, a structure designed to facilitate charitable support and maximize stability and independence…  (more)

EDITOR:  This appears to be a generous gift to the city, for which Mr. Lenfest deserves much praise.  We do have concerns that management by a non-profit board will prove ineffectual.  You can put six brilliant CEO’s from other companies on a board and end up with no one person empowered and with the motivation to actually run the show and thus disaster.  Time will tell.