Did Inquirer Editor Stage a Fake Standing Ovation for Bill Marimow?

Nancy Phillips is Friend of Bill...

BigTrial.net’s Ralph Cipriano has an intriguing scoop on what we over here at Philly Mag like to call the Inky Mess. When Bill Marimow returned to the Inquirer last week, he got a standing ovation. Reportedly, it wasn’t exactly spontaneous.

In a Dec. 7th email to Chris Bonanducci, vice president of human resources, Bill Ross, the Guild’s executive director, wrote, “when Bill Marimow’s return to the newsroom was announced, [Inquirer City Editor] Nancy Phillips went around the newsroom telling employees to give him a standing ovation.””Some members were uncomfortable with this request, which of course seemed like an order when asked by the city editor,” Ross wrote. “Others have asked about her credibility after she admitted concocting a cover story about Marimow’s rehire during her testimony in the recent court case.”

Jay Devine, the PR man representing Marimow, showed his disdain for Cipriano’s reporting–where else?–in the comments section. “We chose not to respond to your inquiry today based on our belief that your blog has consistently reported biased, one-sided and defamatory information. It is not a credible journalistic entity that subscribes to the principles of quality, fair and unbiased journalism. — Jay Devine.”