The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, which traces its roots back to a four-page weekly first published in 1786, announced Wednesday that it will cease publication on May 3.
Block Communications Inc., a family-owned multimedia company based in Toledo, Ohio, has owned the paper since 1927.
According to a story by Post-Gazette reporter Kris B. Mamula, the company has lost more than $350 million operating the newspaper in the last 20 years.
The report notes that despite those efforts, the company said the realities facing local journalism make “continued cash losses at this scale no longer sustainable.”
“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court decisions would require the Post-Gazette to operate under a 2014 labor contract that imposes on the Post-Gazette outdated and inflexible operational practices unsuited for today’s local journalism,” Block Communications is quoted as saying.
“We deeply regret the impact this decision will have on Pittsburgh and the surrounding region. The Block family is proud of the service the Post-Gazette has provided to Pittsburgh for nearly a century and will exit with their dignity intact.”
Post-Gazette journalists returned to work in November after a three-year strike.
Starting in 2018, the newspaper began cutting its print product in favor of digital publication, most recently moving to two print editions – Thursday and Sunday – in 2021, according to media reports.
