By Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was set to stop publication next month. It is getting a new owner instead.

Block Communications, a regional media company that owns the newspaper, agreed to sell the Post-Gazette's assets to the nonprofit Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism, which also owns the Baltimore Banner.

Terms of the deal weren't disclosed.

The boards of both Block and the Venetoulis Institute have approved the transaction, which is expected to take effect May 4.

Toledo-based Block said in January that it would close the Post-Gazette in early May, citing financial losses and a recent court decision in a yearslong battle with unionized staff. At the time, Block said the newspaper had lost more than $350 million in cash over the prior 20 years.

"The realities facing local journalism make continued cash losses at this scale no longer sustainable," the company said at the time. Block, which traces its roots back to 1900 and owns the Toledo Blade, has owned the Post-Gazette since 1927.

The Venetoulis Institute founded the digital-only Baltimore Banner in 2022; the Post-Gazette will be its second publication. The Post-Gazette will maintain newsroom and business-side leadership in Pittsburgh, according to a press release from Block and Venetoulis, while technology and other functions will be combined across the Venetoulis organization.

"We are committed to working with exceptional journalists, along with civic and business leaders across the region, to build a new future for local journalism in Western Pennsylvania," said Bob Cohn, chief executive of the Venetoulis Institute.

"The Block family has worked to find the best possible source for responsible local journalism for the Pittsburgh region and we believe we have succeeded," said Karen Johnese, chairperson of Block Communications.

Write to Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg at Jeffrey.Trachtenberg@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 14, 2026 13:18 ET (17:18 GMT)

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