Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; A Note to Readers
[Kip Currier: As a long-time subscriber to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the note below arrived in my Inbox today: a new era for journalism in the Pittsburgh region and Western Pennsylvania.]
"The Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism, which started The Baltimore Banner four years ago, takes ownership Monday of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. We are thrilled to have this opportunity to ensure that Western Pennsylvania maintains access to high-quality local journalism. We’re grateful to the Block family for its civic leadership over nearly a century and take seriously our obligation to serve the community with fairness and integrity.
As newcomers to Pittsburgh, we have been careful to fill the organization with top-notch journalists and business leaders from the old Post-Gazette. We'll rely on them to help us get to know this great city and region. We’ll also begin this spring hosting community listening sessions throughout the area to make sure we hear directly from you about what you need and want in your news organization.
Venetoulis was founded in response to the nationwide erosion of local news, with so many newspapers shutting down or being purchased by hedge funds with a single-minded focus on financial returns. We are driven, first and foremost, by a civic mission to bring trusted local reporting to communities that need it most. We’re also determined to create a successful model for local journalism that can be refined in Maryland and replicated here in Pittsburgh — and perhaps elsewhere in the coming years. Progress at The Banner suggests we are on the right path, with strong business growth, an expanding newsroom, and a Pulitzer Prize last year in local reporting.
Over time, you will notice some changes in the PG as we take vital steps to build an even more relevant, compelling, and sustainable news organization that, on its best days, will serve as something of a town square for this community. For example, as a nonprofit organization, Venetoulis does not endorse candidates or, as an institution, take positions on matters of policy. That means we will be ending the Opinion section, though we are committed to vigorously reporting on key issues so that you can be an informed citizen, and we will continue to have columnists. At the same time, being a nonprofit allows us to raise donations from the community, which has proven to be an important ingredient in Maryland for building a resilient news business. We’ll still be coming out twice weekly in print as well as delivering the daily e-edition. We’re committed, as ever, to local news, sports, and investigative work. And we’ll focus on upgrading the experience on the website and app to better appeal to the growing base of digital readers.
We are so excited to begin this journey — and we ask for your advice and honest feedback as we strive to make the new Post-Gazette best serve you and your neighbors. You can reach us at feedback@post-gazette.com."
