Jonathan M. Storm, 78, an influential Philadelphia Inquirer television critic and former Rutland Herald reporter and editor, died on August 4, 2025, in Red Bank, N.J., peacefully, of complications from treatment of metastasized melanoma.
He was very funny; a kind, sardonic curmudgeon; bon vivant; gambler; devoted husband; generous mentor; and a man who loved life, his family and his many friends.
He became a TV critic at the Inquirer in the late 1980s at the dawn of reality TV and shortly before the arrival of landmark shows such as “The Simpsons”, “Seinfeld,” “Northern Exposure” and, eventually, “The Wire,” “The Sopranos” and “The West Wing.” Storm was there for all of this, espousing, with a sharp sense of humor, the belief that the art form of television deserved serious thought and criticism.
He once asked a press conference panel full of Kardashians: “Who are you, and why should I care about you?”
While he leveled his incisive gaze on the industry on behalf of his readers, he also mentored younger TV writers and other young people who relied upon him for wisdom and fun counsel.
His first newspaper job was at the Rutland Herald in the 1970s, then considered one of America’s best small-town papers. He lived in the hills and covered selectmen’s and school board meetings and an early campaign of an upstart named Bernie Sanders. In the newsroom, they called him “Stormy,” and he became city editor. Rutland was also where he met his future wife, Kathleen Pottick, whom he loved deeply from the start. He said the Herald was where he learned the role of the hard-nosed journalist.
His farewell column in the Inquirer in 2011 ended: “It was a tremendous pleasure serving you.”
Full obituaries are at the funeral home website (thompsonmemorial.net/obituaries/2851-jonathan-m-storm) and at the Inquirer (inquirer.com/obituaries/jonathan-storm-obituary-philadelphia-inquirer-critic-tv-20250813.html).
A memorial gathering is planned for this fall in Red Bank. Check the funeral home website for details.
This article appears in Aug 13-19, 2025.