Letter From The Download: Welcoming our First-Ever Executive Director/Editor-In-Chief, Cassie Owens

The Philly Download is proud to announce that Cassie Owens, an award-winning journalist, local media advocate, and proud Mount Airy native, is officially stepping in as The Philly Download’s first-ever Executive Director and Editor-in-Chief.

Cassie’s name might ring a bell. She’s spent years covering Philly culture, race, and society in the pages of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Billy Penn, and Metro Philly. Most recently, she led community media work as the News Voices Program Manager at Free Press, helping reimagine how journalism serves our people — not just talks about us.

Now she’s bringing all of that vision and firepower to The Download.

As we’ve grown from a pop-up digital platform into a newly incorporated 501(c)(3) nonprofit newsroom, we knew it was time to deepen our roots — and our impact. Cassie will be leading our editorial direction, shaping our content strategy, and helping build the kind of culture-powered community-rooted news space we’ve been cultivating.

Here’s what Cassie had to say about stepping into this new role:

“Over the course of my career, I've seen what journalism can do — as a reporter, producer, editor, and organizer. Each role showed me the many ways our communities haven’t had full access to that power. It’s a distinct privilege to lead a newsroom that centers Black Philadelphians and pushes back on the status quo. Becoming executive director and editor-in-chief feels like many dreams coming true.”

And here’s what our Board Chair, Manny Smith, shared:

“Cassie Owens brings a remarkable track record of curating and elevating stories that resonate deeply with Black communities across platforms. Her vision and experience are precisely what we need to lead our next phase of multiplatform growth.”

Cassie’s appointment was made official by our Board in May, and her leadership kicks off this week. We're excited. We're honored. And most of all, we're ready to keep building — with her, with you, and for the future of local Black media in Philly.

Read our full press release HERE.

— About the Philly Download: The Philly Download (TPDL) is a hyper-local, hyper-Black digital newspaper that sits at the crossroads of community, arts, and politics. As a nonpartisan 501(c)3 organization, TPDL intends to build narrative power that catalyzes its audience to become embodied storytellers who engage in civic life to build intergenerational power. TPDL is designed to turn out Black voters in targeted wards across Philadelphia by partnering with Philadelphia-based content creators and BIPOC creatives to produce an echo chamber of community-engaged, culturally competent, and digitally native storytelling.