The McLean Contributionship Philadelphia Evening Bulletin Endowed Lecture Series at Temple University Libraries’ Special Collections Research Center

Now in its third year, The McLean Contributionship Philadelphia Evening Bulletin Endowed Lecture Series at Temple University Libraries’ Special Collections Research Center was established to honor the McLean Contributionship’s long-standing commitment to the field of journalism and supporting access to our Philadelphia Evening Bulletin Collection. The series aims to reflect on the past, present, and future of American journalism, history, and culture. Take a look back with us on the journey of this series so far and get a preview of what’s coming up in our next installment of the series on March 30 (originally planned for February 28) with a panel on immigration and journalism!

About the collection

But first, let’s dive into what the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin Collection is! The Collection is a key holding in our Special Collections Research Center’s Urban Archives, which documents the social, economic, political, and physical development of the greater Philadelphia region throughout the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries. The Philadelphia Evening Bulletin was the city’s daily evening newspaper from 1847 to 1982 and was owned by the McLean family from 1895 to 1982. It had the highest circulation of Philadelphia newspapers for 76 years and was once the largest evening newspaper in the United States. The Bulletin Collection was donated to us in 1982 and is used frequently by students, faculty, and visiting scholars and researchers. We are honored to preserve and provide access to this valuable archive documenting Philadelphia history, which includes the George D. McDowell Philadelphia Evening Bulletin Photographs.   

Past series topics

The series launched with a panel discussion in March 2021 focusing on Philadelphia Neighborhoods. Philadelphia Neighborhoods, part of the Multimedia Urban Reporting Lab at Klein College of Media and Communication, is a publication that produces and shares stories about the neighborhoods of Philadelphia. Speakers included Taylor Allen, PlanPhilly’s housing and community development reporter; Brian Creech, associate professor of journalism at Temple University’s Lew Klein College of Media and Communication; Christopher Malo, editor and program manager for PhiladelphiaNeighborhoods.com; and Jack O’Hara, director of Business Development and Marketing at MarketCounsel. View the program recording on our website. 

In March 2022, we continued the series with a panel about the future of local and national journalism. David Boardman, dean of the Klein College of Media and Communication, moderated the discussion on current trends in journalism. We were very excited to host a distinguished panel featuring Tracy Davidson, anchor/reporter for NBC10; Gabriel Escobar, editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer; Cherri Gregg, anchor/reporter for WHYY; and Aron Pilhofer, James B. Steele Chair of Journalism Innovation at Klein College of Media and Communication. View the lively discussion on our website. 

Later this semester: journalism and immigration panel

On March 30 at 4:00 pm over Zoom, the series continues with a panel on immigration coverage in journalism. In this installment, Dr. Heather Levi, professor in the College of Liberal Arts at Temple University, will moderate. Joining us this year are Laura Benshoff, public radio reporter and producer; Jeff Gammage, reporter for The Philadelphia Inquirer; Erika Guadalupe Núñez, executive director of Juntos; and Blanca Pacheco, co-director of New Sanctuary Movement. 

The McLean Contributionship Philadelphia Evening Bulletin Endowed Lecture Series is generously supported by The McLean Contributionship. We are grateful to The McLean Contributionship for making this possible.   

Thanks for reading! We hope to see you on March 30 for the next installment of this series.