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New editors to lead Philly newsroom's digital advance

    by Jane M. Von Bergen, STAFF WRITER | Columnist
    Published 

Former Philadelphia Magazine editor Patrick Kerkstra, who recently left that post, is rejoining the newsroom that includes the Inquirer, where he once worked as a reporter and columnist, Philadelphia Media Networks senior vice president and executive editor Stan Wischnowski said Thursday.

Kerkstra, who will become managing editor of digital content, is one of three seasoned journalists, all with years of experience in digital news, named Thursday to lead PMN's march into the digital future of the news media.

PMN's outlets include the Inquirer, the Daily News, and Philly.com. "Two of our primary objectives are to develop bolder ways to tell stories online and to accelerate our audience growth with indispensable journalism," Wischnowski said.

Kerkstra takes over the role of Eric Ulken, who came to PMN in 2014 and was named Thursday as managing editor of digital operations. In his new job, Ulken will work to transition to a new digital-first publishing system, while building a newsroom video strategy.

Kerkstra, who will rejoin the organization Nov. 30, will coordinate digital news coverage and "tailor storytelling for a digital audience," Wischnowski said. Kerkstra covered higher education and politics as a beat writer for the Inquirer from 1999 to 2010.

Connecting content with the audience will be the responsibility of the third leader announced Thursday. On Dec. 12, Kim Fox will become managing editor for audience development.

Fox was recently based in London, where she managed breaking-news coverage across Europe and the Middle East, and worked as a top manager in audience engagement, for Bloomberg News.