Philadelphia Newspapers Inc. (PNI) Chair Robert Hall
has "offered to sell a parcel of land" at the proposed Broad
and Spring Garden St. ballpark site "at no profit to help"
the Phillies develop a new ballpark in the area, according
to Christopher Hepp of the PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, who writes
that the possible "conflict of interest" over how PNI --
which owns the Inquirer and Daily News -- will cover the
issue has "some in the stadium debate crying foul." PA Sen.
Vincent Fumo (D) cited PNI's "potential financial interest
in the deal" as a reason "he is opposed" to the site: "I am
offended by The Inquirer's effort to manipulate the news and
create the impression that support is growing for a stadium
at Broad and Spring Garden." Hepp writes that of the four
proposed sites -- Broad and Spring Garden, South
Philadelphia, 30th and Walnut Streets and Port Richmond --
the Broad and Spring Garden site "has figured prominently"
in both the Inquirer and Daily News coverage, as each paper
has "devoted a front page story to the site," and mentioned
it 22 times since January 1. Meanwhile, 30th Street has
been mentioned in nine stories over the same period, to
which developer and 30th Street proponent Dan Keating said,
"I think it is a blatant conflict of interest." Hall said
that stories on the stadium site are "no different" than
ones "that affect businesses that advertise with the
company." Inquirer Editor Robert Rosenthal, on any
conflict: "I think we have to be conscious of that
appearance as we go after the story. ... There will be some
people who will believe we have an agenda" (INQUIRER, 3/31).
