Censorship isn’t black and white.
The new owners can pledge all they want not to interfere with news coverage but who is going to stop them?
The Gang of Six that now owns the paper all have ties that could be an issue, but the main one to watch is George Norcross, the South Jersey Democratic power broker who owns an insurance brokerage business and is chairman of the board at Cooper University Hospital in Camden. Norcross wasn’t shy about browbeating reporters and editors about news coverage in the past, so one can only imagine what it will be like now that he owns the ink.
There are many good reporters at the two papers still doing fine work under some difficult conditions. But who is going to have the courage to dig into Norcross’s business dealings or the many issues involving the other owners? Even without Norcross or the other owners saying anything, it is pretty easy to see how self-censorship could seep into deciding what to cover and what not to cover.
Going forward, will Norcross still make the front page of the Inquirer as he did last month, playing a starring role in a scathing report alleging financial mismanagement and cronyism at the Delaware River Port Authority?
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