Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, with roots dating to 1786, will cease operations

The owners of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette have announced the newspaper will cease operations within the next four months.

The newspaper reported Jan. 7 that Block Communications Inc. and the Block family announced the paper’s closure, saying the publication “plans to publish its final edition and cease operations on May 3, 2026.”

The announcement said the company has lost more than $350 million operating the Post-Gazette and blamed recent court decisions requiring the newspaper to adhere to a 2014 labor contract “that imposes … outdated and inflexible operational practices unsuited for today’s local journalism.”

According to the newspaper, the decision will not affect the Toledo Blade, the Post-Gazette’s sister newspaper in Ohio.

The Post-Gazette's origins date back to 1786, when according to a history of the newpaper posted on its website, it began as the Pittsburgh Gazette, "the first newspaper west of the Allegheny Mountains." Among its first public services, it says, was printing the nation’s newly adopted Constitution in 1787.

Under new owner Paul Block, the newspaper published its first edition as the Post-Gazette in August 1927.

The Post-Gazette has won several Pulitzer Prizes, the nation’s top journalism honor, throughout its history, most recently in 2019 for coverage of the Tree of Life synagogue massacre that claimed the lives of 11 people.

The Block family said it regretted the impact the decision would have on the city 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,” it said.