Top Editor of Philadelphia Inquirer Resigns After ‘Buildings Matter’ Headline

“We’re tired of shouldering the burden of dragging this 200-year-old institution kicking and screaming into a more equitable age,” the letter said. “We’re tired of being told of the progress the company has made and being served platitudes about ‘diversity and inclusion’ when we raise our concerns. We’re tired of seeing our words and photos twisted to fit a narrative that does not reflect our reality. We’re tired of being told to show both sides of issues there are no two sides of.

The letter continued, “Things need to change.”

Ms. Hughes, the publisher, said on Saturday that management would search internally and externally for Mr. Wischnowski’s replacement. Mr. Wischnowski could not immediately be reached for comment.

David Boardman, the chairman of the Lenfest Institute board and dean of Temple University’s Klein College of Media and Communication, said in an emailed statement, “What Stan was able to accomplish as The Inquirer’s top editor, through a tumultuous turnstile of owners and publishers, has been remarkable.

“That said,” he added, “he leaves behind some decades-old, deep-seated and vitally important issues around diversity, equity and inclusion, issues that were not of his creation but that will likely benefit from a fresh approach.”

The discontent at The Inquirer came during a week when more than 800 employees of The New York Times signed a letter protesting the publication of an Op-Ed article by Senator Tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas, calling for a military response to unrest in American cities.

Times leaders, including the publisher, A. G. Sulzberger, and the editorial page editor, James Bennet, apologized for publishing the article in a videoconference meeting with staff members on Friday. Later that day, The Times appended an editor’s note to the Op-Ed.

“After publication, this essay met strong criticism from many readers (and many Times colleagues), prompting editors to review the piece and the editing process,” the note said. “Based on that review, we have concluded that the essay fell short of our standards and should not have been published.”