The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PG)’s lifespan has been extended — for now.
Announced last Tuesday, the Maryland-based nonprofit Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism, which owns the Baltimore Banner, emerged victorious as the winning bid for the PG. According to the Banner, the sale will be finalized on May 4, which is the day before the paper would have published its last issue before shutting down.
Owners of both publications are excited for what’s next for Pittsburgh’s media landscape. In an article published by the Banner, Karen Johnese, chairperson of Block Communications Inc., called the Venetoulis Institute the “best possible source for responsible local journalism for the Pittsburgh region.”
Because of the agreement, the PG is staying in Pittsburgh, and its newsroom operations will not be outsourced elsewhere. However, technology and business operations will be combined with teams at the nonprofit, which they say is for sustainability purposes.
In what may be its only non-paywalled article, the PG also has its own piece detailing aspects of the sale. One part of the deal is to keep the PG’s printing schedule the same, meaning the paper will still print a Thursday and Sunday issue without any planned cuts.
While the publication schedule and number of pages isn’t slated for slashing, the same cannot be said for the number of staff at the PG. Both it and the Venetoulis Institute say the PG’s staff may need to shrink for sustainability reasons. As of now, the PG has about 100 staff.
Along with potential staff cuts, the NewsGuild of Pittsburgh is already concerned with the new owners not abiding by the contract striking workers won in late 2025. This is because the Banner published a line implying they don’t have to follow the contracts of Block Communications.
It reads: “because the Venetoulis Institute is buying only the assets of the paper, it is not required to assume the contracts of Block Communications.” The NewsGuild contends this is not true, saying the liability to pay workers in the bargaining unit back all costs illegally passed onto them upheld by the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court does not go away if the paper is sold.
On the same day as the PG’s reported sale, Block Communications appealed the 3rd Circuit ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, which already denied a request to stay this order the Blocks are now appealing. How this will play out remains to be seen.
Additionally, reporters at the paper have all had to re-submit resumes and participate in 20-minute interviews as if they were first being hired again, according to reporting from WESA.
However, Stewart W. Bainum Jr., owner of the Venetoulis Institute, said in an interview with the PG he doesn’t have all the answers for what’s next.
At the same time as the sale announcement, journalists at the PG are at work exploring alternative publication options in an initiative they call the Pittsburgh Alliance for People Empowered Reporting (PAPER). They say, despite an ownership change, the PG likely will continue to not serve areas it routinely ignores — a common critique during town halls.
Although Block Communications is exiting the Pittsburgh market, it is not leaving media behind. The company will retain its presence in Ohio where it owns the Toledo Blade, several TV stations and an internet service provider.
