PHILADELPHIA (AP) – The Philadelphia Inquirer and its sister paper, the Philadelphia Daily News, will merge newsrooms but continue to put out two separate newspapers, leading to an unknown number of job cuts, the owner announced Friday.
Publisher Terrance Egger said the digital operation, Philly.com, would also be part of the consolidation. He told employees the move to a single newsroom will save Philadelphia Media Network $5 million to $6 million.
Chairman H.F. “Gerry” Lenfest, the principal owner, said the newsroom merger will make the company more streamlined.
“It’s more efficient. Rather than have a reporter from each of the three entities to cover an event, we now can send one,” he said. The challenge will be to assure the tabloid Daily News and the Inquirer, a more restrained broadsheet, keep their distinctive voices.