On Wednesday, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette announced that it would cease operations later this year. That news dominated the discussion on KDKA in the aftermath.
The newspaper dates back to 1786 during the first publication of The Pittsburgh Gazette. Its owner, Block Communications, shared that it had lost $350 million operating the paper in the past 20 years.
A recent order from an appeals court mandated that the organization operate under a 2014 labor contract with its union, which the parent company called “outdated and inflexible,” and that the terms of that contract are “unsuited for today’s local journalism.”
On Sunday, May 3rd, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette will publish its final edition and thus cease operations.
The news was a major story on KDKA Newsradio in the Steel City. Afternoon drive host Colin Dunlap — who spent nearly a decade working at the publication — took to both social media and the airwaves to cover the news.
Dunlap later procured the video distributed to employees as part of a Zoom meeting that was called with little notice on Wednesday afternoon. He then shared that audio on the air, allowing listeners to react to the news.
The station also welcomed Joe Starkey, who works for its sports sister station 93.7 The Fan as well as the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, to the show to share his thoughts on the publication’s demise.
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