An Epitaph for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

PHOTO BY DAVE DICELLO

Around 1 p.m. on Wednesday, my phone started blowing up with calls, texts and emails.

In the few seconds my fingers hovered above the screen, I briefly wondered what kind of shocking news I was about to take in; by the way my device continued to beep and vibrate, I knew it had to be something big.

Was there an international scandal? Did the U.S. government declare war? Did someone die?

As it turned out, there was a death — of one of Pittsburgh’s legacy news organizations.

In a brief, four-paragraph press release, the owners of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, a nearly 240-year-old institution, announced the news outlet would no longer exist — at all. May 3 was noted as the final date of publication for both digital and print editions.

Oh.

In their announcement, Block Communications Inc. and the Block family, which has owned the Post-Gazette since 1927, blamed the closure on ongoing financial losses.

“Over the past 20 years, Block Communications has lost more than $350 million in cash operating the Post-Gazette. Despite those efforts, the realities facing local journalism make continued cash losses at this scale no longer sustainable,” the statement said.

Just a few months earlier, unionized Post-Gazette workers had returned to the newsroom following an acrimonious three-year strike. Hours before the paper’s closure was announced, purportedly on a pre-recorded Zoom call to employees, Bloomberg Law reported the Post-Gazette’s publisher had failed to convince the U.S Supreme Court to halt a lower court order requiring Block Communications to make changes to its health insurance coverage for union workers.

This, apparently, was another trigger in the decision to shutter the Post-Gazette.

“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court decisions would require the Post-Gazette to operate under a 2014 labor contract that imposes on the Post-Gazette outdated and inflexible operational practices unsuited for today’s local journalism,” the statement from the Blocks said.

The Post-Gazette wasn’t the only new organization to meet its demise in 2026. Barely a week ago, another distinctive voice was lost when weekly alternative Pittsburgh City Paper announced it would be shutting down after 34 years of bringing the city’s arts, music and political news to Pittsburghers.

In 2023, the publisher of the Butler Eagle had sold the City Paper to Block Communications.

Well then.

Here’s the part where I remind you that journalism — particularly local journalism — matters.

While publications that bring readers national and international news are of utmost importance, it’s your local journalists who consistently cover city hall, school boards and court cases. They’re the ones who write about the local arts, or about that kid who did something special. They’re the ones shining a light on the wins and losses of your hometown sports team.

They’re the ones who tell the stories that most affect your lives.

Journalists also are the public’s watchdogs. When local news outlets disappear, people have far less information about what’s happening in their community. I don’t think it’s redundant to point out that expertly reported news stories hold both powerful organizations and people accountable to the public; without it, corruption and mismanagement are easier to hide.

As the Washington Post’s well-known slogan proclaims, “Democracy Dies in Darkness.”

With the death of the Post-Gazette and City Paper, the voice of Pittsburgh has been significantly weakened. To say that’s disheartening is an understatement.

I’ve been part of Pittsburgh’s media community for more than two decades. We’re a small, close-knit circle and, while I don’t know everyone by face, I know them by their byline. I’ve admired them, in awe of their dogged reporting or writing skills.

To those friends and colleagues, I say thank you for your service, because that’s what real journalism is — a service to our communities.

Your voice mattered, and matters still.