''The Jewish Exponent'' is a weekly community newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and the second-oldest continuously published Jewish newspaper in the United States.

History

''The Jewish Exponent'' has been published continuously since April 15, 1887. A predecessor newspaper, ''The Jewish Record,'' had been published since 1875. The paper was founded by 43 prominent Philadelphians—among them Henry Samuel Morais—who pledged that it would be "devoted to the interests of the Jewish people." It was an early supporter of

Zionism Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

. In the 1940s, the paper experienced financial difficulties, and on May 5, 1944, it was purchased by real estate magnate Albert M. Greenfield and turned over to the Allied Jewish Appeal, a precursor of the

Jewish Federation The Jewish Federation (JFED), is generally a secular Jewish non-profit organization, found within many metropolitan areas across the United States with a significant Jewish community. They provide supportive and human services, philanthropy, fi ...

Greater Philadelphia The Delaware Valley is a metropolitan region on the East Coast of the United States that comprises and surrounds Philadelphia, the sixth most populous city in the nation and 68th largest city in the world as of 2020. The toponym Delaware Vall ...

, which still publishes it today via the Jewish Publishing Group. In 1999, the ''Jewish Exponent'' launched its website. A totally re-designed website was launched in November 2012. The site contains timely news of a local, national, global and Israel nature, as well as blogs, special interest columns, classifieds, death notices and Mazel-Tov announcements. It is the home of the Jewish community events calendar with hundreds of events added monthly in a fashion that is searchable by event type, audience and location. The online guide to Jewish Philly provides a searchable method for the community to find out about every Jewish organization in the Delaware Valley, as well as businesses that wish to promote their products and services to the Jewish community of Greater Philadelphia. The site also allows users to register for weekly email newsletters as well as engage with the ''Jewish Exponent'' via social media such as Facebook and Twitter. On June 3, 2015, the ''Exponent'' laid off its entire editorial staff. Reports said that the paper had been losing $300,000 per year. The owners contracted with Mid-Atlantic Media to operate the editorial department of the paper. Mid-Atlantic is based in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

and produces several other Jewish papers, including the ''

Baltimore Jewish Times The ''Baltimore Jewish Times'' is a subscription-based weekly community publication aimed at the Jewish community of Baltimore. History The newspaper was founded in 1919 by David Alter, and at one time it was the largest Jewish publication in t ...

'', '' Washington Jewish Week'', and ''

Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle The ''Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle'' is an American weekly newspaper published every Thursday for the Jewish community in the Greater Pittsburgh Region. The newspaper is owned and distributed by the Pittsburgh Jewish Publication and Education Fo ...

''. Joshua Runyan, Mid-Atlantic's editorial director, was named the paper's new editor, replacing Lisa Hostein. On Feb. 28, 2022, the ''Exponent'' was sold by Jewish Publishing Group, a subsidiary of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, to Mid-Atlantic Media.

Circulation

The current circulation is made up of direct subscribers and those who donate to th
Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia
The paper is currently delivered to approximately 24,000 households. The paper had 40,000 subscribers in 2009. However, when the paper celebrated its 75th anniversary in 1962, it had the largest circulation of any Jewish newspaper in the United States. At the hundredth anniversary in 1987, the circulation was 65,000.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jewish Exponent Jewish newspapers published in the United States Magazines established in 1887 1887 establishments in Pennsylvania Quarterly magazines published in the United States Jews and Judaism in Philadelphia Newspapers published in Philadelphia