Malcolm Burnley Writer

Malcolm Burnley has been a journalist in Philadelphia since 2013. Before joining the masthead as a staff writer, he was a longtime freelancer for several outlets in the city, including the Citizen (some of his all-time favorite stories were pieces for the Citizen, like one about Philly’s voting-machine fiasco and a contribution in the Higginbotham series), Philly Mag, and WHYY. He’s also contributed work to Time, POLITICO magazine, The Atlantic, iHeartRadio and other outlets.

A native of Staten Island, NY, he is passionate about telling overlooked stories throughout Philadelphia. He’s also a podcast host and adjunct professor at Temple University’s Klein School of Communications. He wants to see Philadelphia at its best. And he wants a Dion Waiter statue.

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Stories by Malcolm Burnley:

Fixing the Prison-to-Temp (Worker) Pipeline

The temp work industry has more than doubled since 1990, but members of City Council and labor advocates say more accountability is long overdue

By Malcolm Burnley
Recap and Video

“You Don’t Recycle Your Way Out of a Wildfire”

How a path of collective bargaining and self-determination can save us from an AI apocalypse, according to technology activist and author Cory Doctorow

By Malcolm Burnley

Summer of Mann

To celebrate its 50th anniversary — and the nation’s 250th — the West Fairmount Park music venue will unveil a dramatic new look to its campus on Monday

By Malcolm Burnley
INTEGRITY ICON 2026

Keith Scott, Beef-Squasher Extraordinaire

For the role he’s played in preventing violence and keeping neighborhoods more whole, Scott is one of this year’s Integrity Icon winners. Come celebrate him and all of this year’s winners on June 3!

By Malcolm Burnley

The Untouchable Sheriff

Missing firearms, a no-bid contract, stalled reforms: Why are Rochelle Bilal’s fellow pols still standing by her?

By Malcolm Burnley

Fighting Black Erasure

Penn professor Sarah Jackson’s new book chronicles the radical acts of Black media-makers who, recognized or not, have shaped the American Experiment over the past 250 years.

By Malcolm Burnley
Ideas We Should Steal

Fix the Sidewalks!

Denver just became the latest major city to launch a comprehensive plan for repairing and expanding its sidewalk networks. What is Philly waiting for?

By Malcolm Burnley
RECAP

What We Learned about The Path to a Clean Energy Future

At an event hosted by Natural Allies for a Cleaner Energy Future this week, local thought leaders discussed a “big tent” approach to energy policy which could grow jobs and lower costs for consumers

By Malcolm Burnley

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