Pittsburgh Post-Gazette to stay in business under new nonprofit owner
90.5 WESA • • business
Key Points:
- The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette will continue operating past its planned May 3 closure after being sold by Block Communications to the nonprofit Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism, effective May 4.
- Venetoulis, which owns the Baltimore Banner, plans to maintain the Post-Gazette’s Thursday and Sunday print editions and keep its newsroom and local leadership based in Pittsburgh, while integrating some teams like technology.
- The sale, funded by Maryland businessman Stewart Bainum Jr., is seen as a positive investment in local journalism, contrasting with typical private equity buyouts focused on asset liquidation.
- Uncertainties remain regarding the retention of the Post-Gazette’s roughly 100 journalists and how outstanding liabilities from a recent legal judgment related to a labor dispute will be addressed.
- Local media experts and union leaders express cautious optimism about the new ownership, hoping it will restore community trust, preserve jobs, and strengthen local journalism in Western Pennsylvania.
