Phil Freedman, news director for Delaware Online/The News Journal and regional editor of investigations and enterprise, is turning his critical eye to New Jersey as the new executive editor of the Asbury Park Press.
Freedman, who has called Delaware Online/The News Journal home since 2003, has helped craft and mold some of the news organization’s finest investigative journalism over his more than 10-year stint as the paper’s news director.
During that time, he’s served as a consistent voice and presence in Delaware’s media coverage, while leading the newsroom through major transitions amid a changing industry, including the shift to a subscriber model of journalism.
“Phil has a proven track record of producing high-impact investigative journalism,” said Hollis Towns, vice president of news for Gannett, the parent company of both Delaware Online/The News Journal and the Asbury Park Press. “He also has an innate ability to collaborate with reporters and editors to ensure they are asking the right questions, digging a little deeper and holding public officials accountable – all while telling a powerful story.”
Brittany Horn, an investigative reporter and editor who has been at Delaware Online/The News Journal for eight years, will replace Freedman as news director.
Freedman helped to shepherd major projects about some of Delaware’s most challenging issues, including a deep-dive into the breakdown that occurred in the state’s largest prison, ultimately leading to the death of a correctional officer and an 18-hour standoff between inmates and law enforcement.
His leadership helped to bring about coverage that examined the continued dismantling and investigation of the state’s largest provider of mental health and substance abuse services, as well as a decades-long culture of sexual harassment at one of Delaware’s largest police departments.
Most recently, he’s spearheaded coverage on the state’s mishandling and denial of water test results that found elevated lead levels in schools that prompted a federal investigation.
MORE TO READ:How Delaware’s handling of lead water testing put thousands of students and staff at risk
“Phil has been the heart and soul of the Wilmington newsroom for years. He has a passion for investigative journalism and a strong sense of caring for our staff and our readers,’’ said Mike Feeley, executive editor of Delaware Online/The News Journal. “It’s safe to say he will take those same attributes with him to Asbury, where he will continue the long tradition of high-impact journalism in New Jersey.”
Freedman first began as a Delaware news editor in 2003 before a brief stint away and then returning as first as city editor and then news director.
Now, he said he is eager to shift his lens to New Jersey and begin working with the reporters and editors who have long held officials to account at the Asbury Park Press, another Gannett news organization.
“I’ve followed the paper for more than 20 years,” Freedman said. “Asbury has a strong tradition of investigative, eye-opening journalism and readers are lucky to have the staff telling them the real stories that go on there. I’m looking forward to working with a staff that wants to do this kind of work.”
Freedman replaced longtime Asbury Park journalist and executive editor Paul D’Ambrosio, who retired in November.
Under D’Ambrosio’s leadership, the Asbury Park newsroom won numerous national and state awards and honors, including “Fighting New Jersey’s Tax Crush,” an eight-day series that was named one of two finalists for the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service in 2010.
The newsroom is also known for its “Renter Hell” series, which in 2018 exposed deplorable conditions suffered by tens of thousands of New Jersey tenants living on government subsidies. The project was named a finalist for the Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting and won investigative reporting honors from the National Association of Black Journalists.
Other recent work from the newsroom includes “Protecting the Shield,” which uncovered the cost of keeping bad cops on the streets.
“Phil is an excellent choice to lead the next generation of investigative journalism at the Asbury Park Press,” said Daniel Sforza, New Jersey state editor for Gannett and the executive editor of The Record and NorthJersey.com. “His ability to work with staff and hone investigative projects will continue a strong newsroom tradition. I look forward to working with him covering New Jersey.”
Before coming to Gannett, Freedman was the executive editor at The Reporter in Lansdale, Pa., and the Sunday editor at The Bucks County Courier Times.
In addition to his work in the newsroom, Freedman has helped developed young journalists, teaching both at Temple University – his alma mater – and The University of Delaware.
Alongside his wife, Gail, he has raised six sons and spends time entertaining his eight grandchildren.
