Pittsburgh Post-Gazette stays alive after sale to nonprofit

• By Ian Karbal, Pennsylvania Capital-Star

This article was originally published by the Pennsylvania Capital-Star. 

After announcing it would end coverage in May, the parent company of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette announced the paper will be sold to the nonprofit Venetoulis Institute and continue to operate in print and online.

The Venetoulis Institute also runs the Pulitzer Prize-winning Baltimore Banner, a nonprofit newsroom that’s served the Maryland metropolitan area since 2022.

“We are committed to working with exceptional journalists, along with civic and business leaders across the region, to build a new future for local journalism in Western Pennsylvania,” Bob Cohn, CEO of the Venetoulis Institute said in a statement announcing the purchase. “We are clear-eyed about the task ahead. We have learned in Maryland that this work takes time, discipline and investment.”

Founded in the 18th century, the Post-Gazette is the oldest newspaper west of the Allegheny Mountains. The sale by Block Communications Inc. ends roughly a century of operation by the Block family, most recently under siblings Allan and John Robinson Block.

Allan Block refused to comment for this story.

“The Block family has worked to find the best possible source for responsible local journalism for the Pittsburgh region and we believe we have succeeded,” Karen Johnese, chairperson of Block Communications, Inc., said in a statement. “We are excited to hand our treasured paper over to such a committed and creative organization. We trust in their integrity and care for our community.”

After working without a union contract for five years, Post-Gazette editorial staff went on strike in October 2022. They cited imposed terms that raised their health care costs and cut benefits, and other issues.

Enough of the newsroom stayed behind to continue publishing the paper.

After three years, the union won their fight in court, and had their last negotiated contract reinstated.

When the U.S. Supreme Court denied a request by the paper to stay the lower court decision in January, Block Communications announced they would shutter the paper.

“We are hopeful for a new direction at the Post-Gazette that actually values journalism,” said Jon Schleuss, president of the NewsGuild-CWA, the national parent of the local union representing Post-Gazette staff. “There are still a lot of details to iron out, including the several million dollars the Blocks owe journalists for violating federal law. We are dedicated to working with ownership that follows the law, respects workers’ union rights and invests in a newsroom delivering high-quality local news. Pittsburgh has made it clear it will accept nothing less.”

According to the announcement, ownership of the paper will transfer on May 4, the day after it had been set to shutter. The paper will continue publishing twice weekly on Thursdays and Sunday.

David Shribman, former executive editor of the Post-Gazette from 2003 to 2019, will join the Venetoulis board of directors. He’s a journalist who previously served as assistant managing editor of the Boston Globe and politics correspondent at the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.