The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette stated Tuesday that it has been acquired by the Baltimore Banner’s writer, rescuing the paper simply weeks earlier than it was set to close down.
The Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism has reached a cope with Block Communications to amass the 240-year-old newspaper, Bob Cohn, CEO of each the Banner and the institute, stated.
“We are determined to ensure that trusted local journalism will live on in western Pennsylvania,” Cohn posted to LinkedIn.
The sale comes much less than three weeks earlier than the newspaper was scheduled to publish its last version.
Block Communications had introduced in January that the Post-Gazette would stop operations and publish its last version on May 3, a plan it appeared to cement with a proper discover filed in March.
The Block household has owned the Post-Gazette since 1927, when it merged the Pittsburgh Gazette with a number of different native papers. Allan Block, the corporate’s CEO, told the Banner that roughly 10 potential consumers expressed curiosity.
“Venetoulis was not the highest bidder, by a significant percentage, but the Block family felt that money wasn’t the only criteria,” he stated.
Under the deal, the newsroom and administration will stay in Pittsburgh. The Venetoulis Institute stated it plans to proceed publishing print editions twice per week, on Thursdays and Sundays, based on the paper’s own report on the sale.
Financial phrases of the sale weren’t disclosed.
In January, Block said the paper had misplaced greater than $350 million over 20 years. The determination to shut got here after the Supreme Court declined to listen to an attraction of a November ruling restoring employees’ contracts. Unionized workers ended a three-year strike that very same month and returned to work.
Jon Schleuss, president of NewsGuild, informed NCS he’s “hopeful for a new direction at the Post-Gazette that actually values journalism.”
“There are still a lot of details to iron out, including the several million dollars the Blocks owe journalists for violating federal law,” Schleuss stated. “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.”
The acquisition marks the Venetoulis Institute’s third main enlargement this yr. In early February, the Banner said it would expand into Prince George’s County, Maryland. Shortly after The Washington Post laid off roughly a third of its staff — together with a lot of its sports activities desk — the Banner announced a move into DC sports activities, hiring a number of former Post journalists.