Keith J. Kelly

Keith J. Kelly

Media

Philadelphia Inquirer chaos continues

The Philadelphia Inquirer’s bizarre and bitter battle pitting owner against owner over the firing of Editor-in-Chief Bill Marimow has taken another turn.

Interstate General Media, which took over the company that owned the Inquirer, the Philadelphia Daily News and Philly.com earlier this year, is now suing one of the co-owners, Lewis Katz, claiming he repeatedly violated his pledge to remain removed from the editorial and journalistic operations. The suit was filed in Delaware Chancery Court on Thursday.

The saga began last week when publisher Robert Hall abruptly fired Marimow, claiming he failed to make changes to reshape the paper for the digital era and had resisted Hall’s plan to fire five staffers, among other things.

Although not universally beloved by journalists, Marimow nevertheless received a standing ovation from the newsroom upon his exit.

Katz, a former owner of the New Jersey Nets, and philanthropist H.F. Lenfest filed suit in state court in Philadelphia against George Norcross, a co-owner, the company and Hall.

Bill MarimowAP

The suit claimed that Katz, along with Norcross, was a member of the two-man management committee that was required to rule on the firing of the editor-in-chief.

Katz said he was never consulted, and therefore Marimow’s firing should be reversed by the courts. Katz also insisted that Hall should be dismissed as publisher.

The suits and countersuits are laced with soap opera-like intrigues. Katz’s significant other, Nancy Phillips, is city editor and a close ally of Marimow.

Norcross’s daughter, Lexie Norcross, is in charge of Philly.com and has frequently been at odds with the editors of the two papers, which also have their own websites.