The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette newspaper will shut down later this year, with a final edition slated for May 3.
Post-Gazette owners Block Communications, a family-owned multi-media company based in Toledo, Ohio, cited financial losses as the reason behind the decision to cease operations.
Block claims to have lost more than $350 million in two decades and “continued cash losses at this scale [are] 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.
A recent court decision that found in favor of the paper’s union, which ordered the Post-Gazette to operate under a 2014 labor contract, also played a factor in the decision. The November 2024 decision followed a three-year strike by union members.
“Recent court decisions would require the Post-Gazette to operate under a 2014 labor contract that imposes on the Post-Gazette outdated and inflexible operational practices unsuited for today’s local journalism,” according to the news release.
Block Communications also owns Pittsburgh City Paper, which was shuttered and published its last issue on New Year’s Eve after 34 years in business as an alt-weekly in the Steel City.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has operated in some form since 1786. The newsroom won a Pulitzer Prize in 2019 for breaking news reporting for its coverage of the deadly 2018 Tree of Life synagogue shooting in Squirrel Hill, Pa.
