By the end of the 1960s, The Inquirer trailed its chief competitor, The Philadelphia Evening Bulletin in circulation, and was lacking modern facilities and experienced staff.

They pledged support to then-President Andrew Jackson and "home industries, American manufactures, and internal improvements that so materially contribute to the agricultural, commercial and national prosperity.

After Harding acquired The Pennsylvania Inquirer, it was briefly published as an afternoon paper before returning to its original morning format in January 1830.

In 1889, the newspaper was sold to publisher James Elverson, who moved The Inquirer to a new building that included the latest printing technology.

Martin merged The Inquirer with another paper, the Public Ledger, but the Great Depression hurt Curtis-Martin Newspapers and the company defaulted in payments of maturity notes.

[17] When The Inquirer was acquired, it was understaffed, its equipment was largely outdated, many of its employees were underskilled, and the newspaper trailed its chief competitor, the Evening Bulletin, in weekday circulation.

Time magazine named The Inquirer one of the ten best daily newspapers in the United States, calling Roberts' changes to the paper, "one of the most remarkable turnarounds, in quality and profitability, in the history of American journalism.

The Inquirer also faced criticism for its expanded international coverage, which led Time magazine to report that it was covering "Karachi better than Kensington".

Knight Ridder pressured The Inquirer to expand into the more profitable Philadelphia suburbs, while at the same time cutting staff and coverage of national and international stories.

The Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News were among the 12 least profitable Knight Ridder newspapers that McClatchy put up for sale in March 2006.

[29][30] On February 21, 2009, despite cutting its operating costs, however, Philadelphia Newspapers LLC, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with the company holding approximately US$390 million in debt, much of which was borrowed to acquire The Inquirer and Daily News.

[35] Philadelphia Newspapers, represented by Lawrence G. McMichael of Dilworth Paxson LLP, challenged the right of creditors to credit bid at a bankruptcy auction.

Plans for the building also included electronic signage such as a news ticker on the corner of the Center City Philadelphia high-rise.

The letter demanded a plan for correcting these issues, threatening to call in "sick and tired" beginning the following day, June 4, if the concerns were not addressed.

In its earliest days, John Norvell left as editor of what was then the Aurora & Gazette because he disagreed with what he felt was the newspaper's editorial approval of a movement towards a European class system.

However, Harding disagreed with Andrew Jackson's handling of the Second Bank of the United States, and he began supporting the anti-Jackson wing of the Democrats.

[7] Before the American Civil War commenced in 1861 The Inquirer supported the preservation of the Union, and was critical of the abolitionist movement, which some felt was responsible for succession of Confederate states.

[6] Between 1929 and 1936, while under Patenotre and Curtis-Martin, The Inquirer continued to support the Republican party and President Herbert Hoover, and did not provide much reporting on Great Depression.

But in a meeting with newspaper editors shortly after, he proposed that the paper go independent and support President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the upcoming presidential election.

[6] While Walter Annenberg promised that The Inquirer would be politically independent, he still used the newspaper to attack people he disliked, sometimes including a person or group with whom he was angered.

In the 1952 presidential election, critics later claimed Annenberg and the newspaper looked the other way when covering allegations related to Nixon's purported misappropriation of funds.

Later, to avoid accusations of political bias, Annenberg had The Inquirer use only the Associated Press and other news wire services in covering the 1960 and 1968 presidential elections in which Nixon was a candidate, losing in 1960 to John F. Kennedy and winning in 1968 in a three-way race against Hubert Humphrey and George Wallace.

In 1970, Annenberg, unhappy with the direction of The Inquirer under the new ownership, had his name removed from the newspaper's masthead following its publication of an editorial critical of Richard Nixon.

[6] Under Knight Ridder, The Inquirer continued to insist that it remained editorially independent, but the newspaper faced criticism from conservatives, who labeled it left leaning.

[61][62] Throughout the 1990s and into the 21st century, the newspaper also faced criticism for its coverage of Israel, including from the Zionist Organization of America, which accused The Inquirer of being anti-Israel.

Tierney, a Republican advertising and public relations executive, had criticized The Inquirer in the past on behalf of his clients, including the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia, which he had represented.

[66] The new owners, which included New Jersey Democratic fundraiser George Norcross III, media entrepreneur H. F. Lenfest, former New Jersey Nets owner Lewis Katz, and CEO of Liberty Property Trust and chairman of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce William Hankowsky, pledged not to influence the content of the paper.

[80] Managing editors are Charlotte Sutton, Patrick Kerkstra, Richard G. Jones, Michael Huang, Kate Dailey and Danese Kenon.

Deputy managing editors are Brian Leighton, James Neff, Ross Maghielse, Molly Eichel and Ariella Cohen.

[81] The Inquirer provides coverage of Philadelphia and its surrounding suburban communities in northern Delaware, South Jersey, and southeastern Pennsylvania.