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Who owns the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette? Is it shutting down amid the employee strike?
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette will shut down in May 2026 after 239 years, with owner Block Communications citing a strike lasting over three years.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, one of the United States iconic newspapers based out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania announced Wednesday that it will shut down in May 2026. It will close the curtains on its illustrious 239 years of existence.
Block Communications, the company that owned the Gazette, announced the decision to shut down the newspaper amid an ongoing strike by the employees that lasted for more than three years.
Block Communications is a privately held media company owned and controlled by the Block family. It was founded by Paul Block in 1900 and remains under multi-generational family ownership.
Recent filings show Allan Block and John R. Block each directly own about 25%, while the remaining 50% is held in family trusts benefiting other Block descendants.
Block Communications has owned the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette since 1927, meaning roughly 99 years of ownership at the planned 2026 closure. The company, notably, also owned the Pittsburgh City Paper from 2023 till its closure in 2025.
Block says decades of steep financial losses—over $350 million in 20 years—have made the paper unsustainable, especially amid the wider decline in local news economics
What To Know About The Employee Strike
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has been center of one of the longest-running labor strikes at a newspaper in the United States, with employees across departments taking to picket lines against the ownership. The strike began in October 2022, and ended in November 2025.
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Unionized workers at the paper, including advertising, production, and newsroom staff, walked off the job over unfair labor practices and changes to health care and contract terms. It ended after a US Appeals Court ruled in favor of the striking workers in November 2025.
But, as the employees returned to work, Block Communications announced that the company would be shutting down, with the final edition coming out in May 2026, implying that the employees would again be without jobs.
