Post-Gazette cuts begin as nonprofit prepares to take over
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The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette offices in August 2016. Photo: Raymond Boyd/Getty Images
More than a third of Post-Gazette newsroom workers are expected to lose their jobs Monday as new nonprofit owners take over, the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh said Friday.
The big picture: Staff reductions will shrink coverage of local news, high school and college sports, and the arts at Pittsburgh's oldest newspaper, along with cuts to editing and production staff, per the Guild.
- The Guild said it anticipates that number could climb to nearly half the newsroom as more staff members receive notice about their job status.
Catch up quick: Block Communications Inc. announced April 14 it was selling the newspaper to the Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism — the nonprofit publisher of the Baltimore Banner. Venetoulis Institute founder Stewart Bainum said the nonprofit would likely cut the newsroom's roughly 100-person workforce due to industry realities.
- Staff members were asked to reapply for their jobs and to sit for 20-minute interviews with Institute leaders, WESA reported.
- The nonprofit sent job offers to about half the newsroom starting Wednesday, per the Guild, while others have received no notice or were told they wouldn't be retained.
Zoom in: Those who said they were not re-hired include longtime music writer Scott Mervis; designer Zack Tanner, who served as Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh president for most of the newsroom's three-year strike; high school sports writers Steve Rotstein and Brad Everett, Pitt athletics reporters Abby Schnable and Stephen Thompson; photographer Sebastian Foltz; and high school sports and Riverhounds writer Keith Barnes.
- Books editor and columnist Adriana Ramírez said on X she will not be re-hired, adding "the new ownership will be shuttering the entire opinion section."
- About 80% of former striking Post-Gazette workers will not be rehired, NewsGuild president and education reporter Andrew Goldstein said Friday. Goldstein said he's among those not offered jobs.
Post-Gazette management and Venetoulis leadership did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
- The Venetoulis Institute, in a statement to KDKA, said it's "determined to ensure that the P-G is positioned for long-term success."
Between the lines: The Baltimore Banner reported the nonprofit will buy only the paper's assets and is not obligated to take on existing contracts; the Institute previously informed the union it will recognize its standing and negotiate a new contract, per the NewsGuild.
- "I hope that the workers who remain don't give Baltimore ownership one inch of leeway when it comes to defending their workplace rights," Tanner told Axios. "If new owners can cut this aggressively, who knows what else they're capable of."
Flashback: Block Communications said in January it would close the Post-Gazette, citing more than $350 million in losses over the past 20 years.
- The decision followed the longest newsroom strike of the digital era, during which many journalists crossed the picket line.
What's next: The newspaper's leadership team will remain in place after the Venetoulis Institute acquires the paper on Monday, the nonprofit announced Thursday. Tracey DeAngelo will stay on as president, and Stan Wischnowski will continue as executive editor.
- "With the Venetoulis Institute's commitment to local journalism, we're well-positioned to build a sustainable future for the Post-Gazette and the communities it serves alongside those who support and believe in the value of local news," DeAngelo said.
- New owners plan to maintain the Post-Gazette's two print days, Thursday and Sunday, and return newsroom offices to the North Shore, the Business Times reported.
Axios Pittsburgh reporter Ryan Deto contributed to this story.