Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists and The Philadelphia Inquirer Announce New Partnership Initiatives

The Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists (PABJ) and The Philadelphia Inquirer are excited to announce a new partnership to help drive diversity, equity, and inclusion within The Philadelphia Inquirer and beyond.

PABJ President Ernest Owens met with Philadelphia Inquirer CEO and Publisher Lisa Hughes, Editor and Senior Vice President Gabriel Escobar, and Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Jameel Rush to discuss shared goals and initiatives that will help The Inquirer create more opportunities for Black and other journalists of color and drive stronger connection to the Philadelphia community. Commitments made include creating a new apprenticeship program for early-career Black and brown journalists at The Inquirer, a partnership around a new Community Advisory Council for The Inquirer, and continued dialogue on upcoming DEI programs and initiatives that the organizations will work together to achieve. The partnership is one of several initiatives The Inquirer, PABJ, and the Lenfest Institute for Journalism have taken recently to expedite progress toward DEI goals in the Philadelphia media ecosystem.

“PABJ has been an advocate for equity and representation in newsrooms since its founding in 1973 by the legendary Acel Moore,” said Lisa Hughes, Inquirer publisher and CEO.  “We are delighted to work with PABJ on initiatives that will have a significant impact on our staff and on the journalism we produce.”

“The Philadelphia Inquirer has been our city’s paper of record for decades and this groundbreaking partnership with them is in honor of the legacy of our PABJ founders and previous leaders who’ve wanted this to happen,” said Ernest Owens, PABJ President. “We look forward to enacting immediate change and strengthening DEI efforts across the Greater Philadelphia area.”

While this partnership will be the first of many between the organizations, meetings will begin this month to finalize the design and implementation schedule of the programs mentioned above. 


About The Philadelphia Inquirer
Since 1829, The Philadelphia Inquirer has been “asking on behalf of the people” by providing essential journalism for the diverse communities of the Philadelphia region. The Inquirer, a for-profit public benefit corporation owned by the non-profit Lenfest Institute, produces Pulitzer Prize-winning journalism that changes lives and leads to lasting reforms. Its multiple brand platforms — including newspapers, Inquirer.com, e-Editions, apps, newsletters, and live events — reach a growing audience of more than 10 million people a month. “In a free state, there should always be an inquirer asking on behalf of the people.” — John Norvell, Inquirer co-founder

About the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists
​Founded in 1973, PABJ is the nation’s oldest professional association of Black journalists. With over 200 active members, we are also one of the largest & the founding chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists. This rich history & size allows us to serve as advocates for newsroom diversity and fair coverage of communities of color. We serve this mission through our awards programs, training institutes and signature community programs like our renowned Media Access Workshop. In 2019, PABJ launched a first-of-its-kind residency at Pipeline Philly, a co-working space next to City Hall. It is the cornerstone of PABJ’s new focus on supporting Black content creators & media entrepreneurs. Beyond newsroom diversity, our communities benefit best when we own the stories that get told and shared about us.