Happy Birthday Jon Stewart

A belated happy birthday to Jon Stewart, host of The Daily Show, who turned 49 this week. I have always found it troubling that polls regularly show that a majority of young Americans get their television news from The Daily Show, but at least they are getting it from a master of social satire. Stewart once said, "I have complete faith in the continued absurdity of whatever's going on." His show proves that time and again.

Philly papers leaving iconic home

In a move everyone saw coming, the owners of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News announced the two newspapers are leaving their landmark Broad Street home for a smaller space downtown.  The home of Philadelphia's two daily newspapers opened in 1925 and for decades has been one of Philadelphia's iconic buildings. The 18-story Beaux Arts skyscraper has a white facade and a distinctive clock tower. Philadelphia's two newspapers have been steadily shedding staff and currently occupy only about half the building. The Inquirer and Daily News will move into the former Strawbridge & Clothier store at Eighth and Market streets.

Pittsburgh Press reborn

The Pittsburgh Press, which disappeared from the Steel City in 1992, has been reborn as an electronic edition of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.  The Press was the victim of a crippling strike that shut it down for a year.  At the time the Press was the largest newspaper in Pittsburgh and the closing was a shock to many.  The Press won two Pulitzer Prizes during its long history.  The electronic edition will appear in the afternoon on the Post-Gazette web site and contain 12 to 16 pages daily. Of course, this new version of the Press doesn't mean that Pittsburgh has two newspapers again, but it's good to see the ownership of the Post-Gazette giving a nod to the city's press history.