Pittsburgh Post-Gazette to shut down
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The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette will print its last issue in May. Photo: Raymond Boyd/Getty Images
Pittsburgh's largest and oldest newspaper will print its last issue on May 3, it announced on its website Wednesday afternoon.
Why it matters: The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has served the region in some form since 1786, winning Pulitzer Prizes along the way.
The big picture: The paper's owner, Block Communications Inc., said the Post-Gazette has lost more than $350 million over the past 20 years.
- Block Communications, operated by twin brothers John and Allan Block, said the realities facing local journalism make "continued cash losses at this scale no longer sustainable."
- "The Block family said it deeply regretted how the decision will affect Pittsburgh and the surrounding region. The Block family said it was proud of the service the Post-Gazette has provided to Pittsburgh for nearly a century," reads a statement.
Pittsburgh will be down to one daily publication in May: the Tribune-Review, aka TribLive.
Between the lines: Staff at the Post-Gazette were informed via a Zoom call with Block Communications just minutes before the article announcing the closure was published around 1:30pm Wednesday, according to an internal email acquired by Axios. The newsroom's roughly 150 employees would be affected by the closure.
State of play: About two dozen Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh journalists returned to work in November after a three-year strike.
- Block Communications threatened to shut the paper down after it lost its appeal of a ruling that ordered the company to reinstate the terms of a prior union contract and resume negotiations.
Context: The U.S. Supreme Court earlier Wednesday rejected the Blocks' attempt to block a lower court order requiring changes to health insurance coverage for union workers, per Bloomberg Law.
"Instead of simply following the law, the owners chose to punish local journalists and the city of Pittsburgh," Andrew Goldstein, president of the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh, which represents staffers at the paper, said in a statement.
- He added that the union is pursuing options to try to continue publishing high-quality journalism for the region.
- Post-Gazette spokesperson Allison Latcheran tells Axios the paper has no comment on the union's statement.
What they're saying: "No other way to say it: this sucks. I'm proud of what we've done at the P-G and grateful to have worked here. Most upset for the city of Pittsburgh," Post-Gazette sports writer Colin Beazley posted on X.
- Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato said in a statement that she is concerned about the loss of jobs for local reporters and staff, the public losing access to trustworthy news, and the hit to the transparency that newspapers provide on local government.
- "The long-term impact of losing these local news resources is immeasurable and won't be fully realized for years to come," Penn State Greater Allegheny communications professor Zack Furness tells Axios.
Inside the room: Block Communications president Jodi Miehls told staff "the realities facing local journalism have brought us to this sad moment" and asked them to continue to publish under business-as-usual conditions through the final edition, according to a recording of a Zoom call reviewed by Axios.
- Non-union staffers were told severance packages will be available for employees who work through the final edition.
- Union staffers were told Miehls said Block Communications "will work with your union representatives to determine appropriate separation packages."
Flashback: The move comes days after Block Communications shuttered its alt-weekly Pittsburgh City Paper.
What's next: Block Communication said this decision will not affect the Toledo Blade, the other daily newspaper it owns.