Jim Friedlich ’79

Jim Friedlich ’79, P’14 was appointed the chief executive officer of The Lenfest Institute for Journalism in Philadelphia. This newly formed Institute has an endowment for investment in technology and innovations that advance the future of journalism. The Institute is also the parent company of The Philadelphia Inquirer, a winner of 20 Pulitzer Prizes and now the largest newspaper in America operated as a public-benefit company. Cable mogul and philanthropist H.F. “Gerry” Lenfest said, “The hiring of Jim Friedlich—one of the most talented and capable thinkers in the business of journalism—will help propel our mission: developing effective models for powerful public-service journalism on a local and regional level in the digital age.” An English major at Wesleyan, Friedlich was chief executive of digital media advisory firm Empirical Media which was purchased by Lenfest. He worked as group publisher of The Wall Street Journal International and was a seed investor in Business Insider.