Copyright The Philadelphia Inquirer
The Philadelphia Citizen, the earnest civic-minded digital news nonprofit founded in 2015, purchased Philadelphia Magazine on Friday, ending months of speculation about a possible sale of the 117-year-old lifestyle publication long owned by the Lipson family. The magazine will continue to publish in print and online and will now operate as a nonprofit, said Larry Platt, former Philly Mag Editor and co-founder of the Philadelphia Citizen. Platt will serve as president and CEO of a new umbrella organization, Citizen Media Group, which will oversee both Philly Mag and The Citizen. There are no layoffs planned for journalists, though eight shared-services employees in advertising and marketing will lose their jobs as part of the transition as well as the full-time fact checker, Platt said. Neither Platt nor David Lipson — whose family has owned Philly Mag since his grandfather bought it from the city’s Chamber of Commerce precursor in 1946 — would say how much the magazine sold for. “It’s been a long run,” Lipson said. “What I like about the Citizen is their mission. They’re seeking solutions to problems that hold the city back.” Philly Mag has long had a reputation for being “aimed at Main Line matrons who ate out a lot and bought wine,” said Sandy Hingston, an editor at Philly Mag for nearly two decades and now its emeritus editor-at-large. Immediate staff changes include promoting freelance editor-at-large Christine Speer Lejeune to Editor and hiring former Daily News and Inquirer columnist and former Philly Mag editor Ronnie Polaneczky as senior editor. Interim Editor Bradford Pearson will become executive editor, and Citizen executive director Roxanne Patel Shepelavy will oversee both outlets. Platt and Patel Shepelavy said they plan to redesign Philly Mag’s print magazine and its website, increase its social media presence, and launch a daily podcast. “We have the privilege of being able to take this legacy publication and really experiment,” Patel Shepelavy said. Platt said the magazine will seek to add new voices, though it will not necessarily hire new full-time staff writers. The nonprofit model, which he called “much purer,” will allow the organization to grow revenue through corporate sponsorships, foundation support, and new donors. “If you got to look, as we did early on, at Philly Mag’s [profit and loss statement], you would realize that they’ve been a nonprofit for years,” he said. “They just didn’t recognize it.” The acquisition is being funded by a group led by venture capitalist Richard Vague and Future Standard CEO Michael Forman, as The Inquirer previously reported. The Citizen Media Group board is chaired by former Comcast CEO David L. Cohen. “Money definitely helps but it’s not the only answer,” said Eliot Kaplan, the editor of the magazine in the 1990s. “You really gotta be clever and hire some good people.” The merger has been in the works for about 16 months. Lipson said he first met with Platt about it in the summer of 2024. The two men already knew each other: Platt worked at Philly Mag as a staff writer and later as top editor for eight years. He was fired in 2010 by the Lipson family because of his “history of inappropriate and unprofessional remarks and jokes to his employees,” according to the Daily News. That included gifting a departing female staffer a framed photo of a cyst that was removed from his testicle. Platt said that gift, which he did not dispute, is not what led to his firing, which he said was about his management style. “Historically, editing Philadelphia Magazine has been like being a manager in the major leagues. The line is, you get hired to be fired, right?” Platt said of his previous departure. He said he has “no fantasy” about returning to edit Philadelphia Magazine, and will instead be focused on big picture growth for the nonprofit group. Asked about Platt’s past exit, Lipson was philosophical: “Life has chapters,” he said. “It was a time where both of us felt it was time he do something else,” he said, adding of the sale, “I’m excited for him. He’s worked very hard for this.” Lipson will maintain a non-voting seat on the Citizen Media Group board going forward.
