Yesterday, members of the Penn community got the opportunity to listen, laugh and learn from one of its own, Penn alum and accomplished journalist Brian Tierney.
Tierney, publisher and CEO of The Philadelphia Inquirer and CEO of the Philadelphia Daily News, addressed a group of 36 students, faculty and alumni at the St. Anthony Hall speaking series in St. Anthony Hall, also known as Delta Psi fraternity.
The event was co-sponsored by the fraternity and The Daily Pennsylvanian.
Tierney spoke confidently about the newspaper industry, in spite of the constant threats to its survival. He also expressed concern without fear about the future of the Inquirer and the Daily News.
"It's a tremendous business, and it's profitable," said Tierney, who has also received a law degree from Widener University, "What it all comes down to is quality journalism," he said.
The St. Anthony Hall speaking series is designed to put members of the Penn community face-to-face with prominent individuals, while raising awareness on a variety of relevant topics. Last night's event was the first such one since 2004, when Ron F. Kennedy addressed the fraternity.
Tierney was part of St. Anthony Hall during his time at Penn.
College junior Ian Grajewski, president of St. Anthony Hall, introduced Tierney to the audience before his presentation, and Tierney provided the small crowd with an in-depth speech about print journalism.
"[Philadelphia Media Holdings is] number one in the country in terms of circulation growth and number two in the country in advertising and sales performance," Tierney said. "Today 900,000 people physically picked up The Philadelphia Inquirer and another 500,000 people physically picked up the Daily News," he said.
After the speech, Tierney opened the floor for questions, and he answered each question with accuracy and aplomb.
"He was candid, honest and conversational," Grajewski said. "I thought it was a great success and we're going to try to bring the series back as a college tradition."
College senior Will Menkes expressed excitement about finally meeting the man he's heard so much about during his time at Penn.
"I've heard his story second-hand, but tonight I got the opportunity to get it from the horse's mouth," he said.
And while Tierney kept the room's full attention, he also kept to his statements about the future of the newspaper industry.
"Newspaper journalists have so much more credibility than television journalists because we really talk about the facts," he said. "I think the real issue is how and where do we want to compete," he added.
