Newspaper owner won’t interfere

Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA

One of the powerful business leaders who purchased Philadelphia’s two largest newspapers is again pledging the new owners won’t interfere with journalistic content.

The group that announced this week they were buying The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Philadelphia Daily News and the website Philly.com includes influential New Jersey Democrat George Norcross III, former New Jersey Nets owner Lewis Katz and cable TV mogul H.F. “Gerry” Lenfest. They have pledged not to meddle with content.

Norcross said Thursday he has decided he will “never complain or seek to alter any story” done by the company’s journalists. He says he has given up his “right to appeal” on any story whose subject is connected to him

The group bought the papers from hedge funds for about $55 million, a fraction of what investors paid for them in 2006.