Dueling Memos: Tierney, Natoli On Resignation

Hey, interested in Joe Natoli’s resignation to go to Miami? Think it’s a little coincidental that negotiations with the union are going on right now and the publisher left?

Well, you ain’t going to get anything like that from these memos. They’re from Natoli and Tierney. But, hey, if Joe Natoli says he just wants to go back to Miami, then… eh. Fair enough. Makes sense! After all, it is only 91 with 50 percent humidity there. That’s downright gorgeous compared to here.

After the jump, Inky/Daily News publisher Joe Natoli talks about his decision to return to Miami and Brian Tierney talks about how much he’ll missh im.

More »

Breaking: Joe Natoli Resigns

Sez the Inquirer’s Joseph DiStefano:

Joe Natoli, publisher of The Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News, and Philly.com, has resigned to take a job as head financial officer for the University of Miami.

For now, Natoli’s duties will be split between Brian P. Tierney, chief executive of the papers’ new owner, Philadelphia Media Holdings LLC, and consultant Gordon Medenica, a former New York Times executive, said spokesman Jay Devine today.

More on this TK…

Publisher of Inquirer, Daily News resigns [Inky]

Would The Inquirer Building Go Condo?

Steve Volk reports on philadelphiaweekly.com about the a recent Joe Natoli memo which featured, Q&A-style, this exchange:

Q: I heard something about our downtown building being for sale. Is that true?

A: No, but that’s under review. Our building is under-utilized. Options include leasing open space to others, selling the building in a sale/lease-back (which would generate cash to pay down debt, without requiring a move), or selling the building and leasing space in another facility. The issue is how best to realize the value of our real estate. That’s made more interesting by the school board’s recent move to North Broad Street, CBS’s plans to become our neighbor and the Governor’s proposed sale of the state office building just north of us. A decision on the building is probably months away. Having said that, we would always expect to maintain a significant presence in Philadelphia.

Natoli tells Volk that the Inquirer isn’t moving to the suburbs, even if that’s what one could infer from this memo. You can read the whole story and memo here.

Inquirer/Daily News Considering Move to the ’Burbs? [PW]

‘Pherotones’ soon to control all our lives

Last week, I noticed an ad on Phillyist for Pherotones, which are — hold your breath — ringtones that are supposed to make you attractive to the opposite sex. The official Pherotones website says “Pls chk bck ltr” when you try to order them. (I’d like to state now I only clicked on “order” only for informational purposes. Also, I’m not making any of this up, although someone did email me to say it’s probably just guerilla marketing for something, and apparently it’s ad agency McKinney Silver’s campaign. For what, I don’t know.)

Then, earlier today, I started seeing Pherotones ads all over the Internet, including on Gawker, which is sort of the granddaddy of all the gossip/media/humor blogs like this one. Here’s the ad:

If you don’t know, it’s an attempt (albeit a poor one) to make the ad look like a regular Gawker post. Perhaps some of you scoff at this blending of advertisement and editorial (design-wise, at least). Me, I think it’s a start of a trend. Philadelphia Newspapers Inc. head Joe Natoli has proven he’s not opposed to doing something like this just last year, and I fully expect to see this on Philly.com tomorrow:

And, soon, my dating woes will be over.

Gawker
Pherotones
Cute Ad, Stupid Move [Citypaper]
Jan. 19, 2006: They’re called “Pherotones” (no, really)