--- aliases: - Philadelphia Inquirer - Inquirer - The Pennsylvania Inquirer - Inquirer.com category: "Media & Entertainment" tags: - Organization - Media - Newspaper - Philadelphia - Annenberg - OlneyHouseInvestigation - RCHorsch summary: "Philadelphia daily founded in 1829, owned by the Annenbergs, Knight Ridder, local investors and H.F. Lenfest, and since 2016 by a nonprofit institute under the Philadelphia Foundation." start: 1829-06-01 location: "Philadelphia, Pennsylvania" created: 2026-09-23 updated: 2026-09-23 relations: - type: owned with: "[[Moses Annenberg]]" reverse: true start: 1936 fn: 1 - type: owned with: "[[Walter Annenberg]]" reverse: true end: 1969 fn: 1 - type: owned with: "[[Knight Ridder]]" reverse: true fn: 1 - type: owned with: "[[Brian P. Tierney]]" reverse: true start: 2006 fn: 5 - type: owned with: "[[Alden Global Capital]]" reverse: true start: 2010 fn: 5 - type: owned with: "[[Lewis Katz]]" reverse: true start: 2012 fn: 5 - type: owned with: "[[George E. Norcross III]]" reverse: true start: 2012 fn: 5 - type: owned with: "[[H.F. Lenfest]]" reverse: true start: 2012 end: 2016 fn: 5 - type: owned with: "[[Lenfest Institute for Journalism]]" reverse: true start: 2016-01-12 fn: 2 --- *The Philadelphia Inquirer* is a daily newspaper in [[Philadelphia]], founded on Monday, June 1, 1829, as the *Pennsylvania Inquirer*. Since 2016 it has been owned by a tax-exempt institute created at the request of [[H.F. Lenfest|H.F. "Gerry" Lenfest]] by the [[Philadelphia Foundation]]. Since June 2026 it has reported the [[Olney House Investigation]] into women connected to the pornographer [[R.C. Horsch]], and its files from 1969 to 1975 record the closing of his [[Underground Cinema 16]] and the cancellation of his film [[Black Mass (1975 film)|Black Mass]].[^1][^2][^3][^4] ### Annenberg [[Moses Annenberg]] announced in 1936 that he had bought the paper for four million dollars, with the assumption of 6.8 million dollars in debt. His son [[Walter Annenberg]] inherited the business, and in 1957 bought the *[[Philadelphia Daily News]]* for three million dollars from the Philadelphia builder [[Matthew McCloskey|Matt McCloskey]]. In 1969 the two papers were sold for 55 million dollars to [[John S. Knight]]'s company, Knight Newspapers, which later merged with Ridder Publications to form [[Knight Ridder]].[^1] ### Tierney, the Hedge Funds, and the 2012 Group Investors led by the public relations executive [[Brian P. Tierney]] bought the papers in 2006 for 515 million dollars. Hedge funds led by [[Alden Global Capital]] and Angelo, Gordon and Company bought the company out of bankruptcy in 2010 for 139 million dollars. In April 2012 a local group led by [[Lewis Katz]] and [[George E. Norcross III]], with Lenfest, [[Krishna P. Singh|Krishna P. "Kris" Singh]], [[William P. Hankowsky]], and Joseph Buckelew, agreed to pay 55 million dollars for the papers and their website, the same price Walter Annenberg had received in 1969.[^5] In May 2014 Lenfest and Katz won the company at auction for 88 million dollars, outbidding their co-owner Norcross and his associates.[^2] ### The Lenfest Institute On January 12, 2016, Lenfest announced that he had donated the *Inquirer*, the *Daily News*, and philly.com to a newly created tax-exempt organization, the [[Lenfest Institute for Journalism|Institute for Journalism in New Media]], operating under the TPF Special Assets Fund of the Philadelphia Foundation, and would contribute 20 million dollars to its endowment. The operating company, Philadelphia Media Network, was converted to a public benefit corporation and remained a self-governing, for-profit company. "Of all the things I've done, this is the most important. Because of the journalism," Lenfest said. The foundation's president, [[Pedro Ramos]], said: "We're not getting into the newspaper business," and "In a democracy, great cities need and depend on quality journalism."[^2][^6] ### Coverage of the Horsch Cases On October 30, 1969, the paper reported that the [[Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections]] had ordered Cinema 16 closed.[^3] On February 28, 1975, it reported that *Black Mass* had been cancelled at the [[Arcadia Theatre (Philadelphia)|Arcadia]] "after reported pressure by the Philadelphia Archdiocese" and would be shown at the [[Bandbox Theater]].[^4] From June 2026 its reporters, among them Ellie Rushing, Barbara Laker, Max Marin, and Ryan W. Briggs, reported the search of the house on West Chew Avenue, the prosecutions of [[Eugene Horsch]], R.C. Horsch's access to the crematorium of the [[Garzone Funeral Home]], and his 2009 conviction for luring a child. On August 28, 2026, the paper reported, citing unnamed sources, that investigators believed a video showed Horsch killing a woman.[^7][^8] ### Footnotes [^1]: "The History of the Philadelphia Inquirer," Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia. https://www.broadcastpioneers.com/inquirerhistory.html [^2]: Gammage, Jeff. "Lenfest donates newspapers, website to new media institute," *The Philadelphia Inquirer,* January 11, 2016. https://www.inquirer.com/philly/business/20160112_Lenfest_donates_newspapers__website_to_new_media_institute.html [^3]: "Police to Inspect Building: Cinema 16 Shut Down In License Dispute; Owner Is 'Confused'," *The Philadelphia Inquirer,* October 30, 1969, p. 19. https://www.newspapers.com/image/169186622/ [^4]: [Society and nightlife column], *The Philadelphia Inquirer,* February 28, 1975, p. 21. https://www.newspapers.com/image/173366667/ [^5]: Armstrong, Mike. "Local investors buy Inquirer, Daily News, website," *The Philadelphia Inquirer,* April 2, 2012. https://www.inquirer.com/philly/business/20120402_Local_group_to_buy_Phila__Media_Network_for__55_million.html [^6]: The Lenfest Institute for Journalism, "H.F. Lenfest Launches Institute for Journalism in New Media, Donates Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily News and Philly.com, Makes $20 Million Gift to New Endowment," press release, January 12, 2016. https://www.lenfestinstitute.org/solutions-resources/h-f-lenfest-launches-institute-journalism-new-media-donates-philadelphia-inquirer-daily-news-philly-com-makes-20-million-gift-new-endowment-ensure-future/ [^7]: Rushing, Ellie, Barbara Laker, Ryan W. Briggs, and Max Marin. "Raymond Horsch was convicted of luring a 9-year-old girl to his car in 2009. Now those court records could be destroyed." *The Philadelphia Inquirer,* September 22, 2026; Briggs, Ryan W., Max Marin, Barbara Laker, and Ellie Rushing. "Raymond Horsch had access to a Kensington crematorium linked to illegal body parts sales, years before missing persons investigation," *The Philadelphia Inquirer,* September 21, 2026. https://www.inquirer.com/crime/raymond-horsch-child-luring-kensington-records-expunged-20260922.html ; https://www.inquirer.com/news/raymond-horsch-missing-women-kensington-bodies-crematorium-20260921.html [^8]: "Police believe a new video shows violent pornographer Raymond 'R.C.' Horsch killing a woman on camera, sources say," *The Philadelphia Inquirer,* August 28, 2026. https://www.inquirer.com/crime/raymond-horsch-woman-killed-snuff-film-olney-20260828.html