The largest union for journalists in the United States is asking the Department of Justice to investigate the recent acquisition of Pittsburgh City Paper.
A subsidiary of Block Communications Inc. — which also owns the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette — bought the alt-weekly earlier this month. The company did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In a letter sent Wednesday afternoon, the NewsGuild-Communication Workers of America urged the DOJ to examine how this purchase could harm the Pittsburgh community.
According to NewsGuild-CWA President Jon Schleuss, the union is concerned about how it could reduce competition, limit the mobility of newspaper employees and restrict the kinds of stories local journalists can tell.
“The existence of pesky, small news outlets, daily or weekly, that cover issues not normally covered by the incumbent media improves the overall quality of news production for the entire local market,” Schleuss wrote. “That vibrancy, in turn, gives readers the information they need to make decisions in their personal and professional lives. It also leads to a more informed citizenry.”
He went on to call on the DOJ to probe “the competitive impact of this attempted consolidation of local news.”
Eagle Media, the company that owns the Butler Eagle, sold the paper to Block Communications after purchasing it in 2016. Publisher Ron Vodenichar said running the City Paper from a distance was difficult and costly.
In a joint statement with Vodenichar released Jan. 4, the publishers said all City Paper employees will be retained and operate autonomously “continuing to serve as Pittsburgh’s alternative news weekly.”
But Schleuss pointed out that in an already shrinking news market, the City Paper had carved out space to cover the Block family, owners of Block Communications.
The letter comes as many editorial, production and distribution workers at the Post-Gazette marked their 100th day on strike. Members of the paper’s newsroom first walked out on Oct. 18 in an effort to force management to negotiate better health care, wages and new union contracts.
Union representatives with the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh, which represents the paper’s journalists, met with management on several occasions last year to negotiate a contract. Those meetings have yielded little progress.
“Consolidation in media is wildly troubling, especially when the Blocks refuse to spend the paltry amount of money that it would take to end our strike. Instead of buying competing outlets in Pittsburgh, they should be investing in the workers that are fighting,” Newspaper Guild President Zack Tanner wrote in a message.
According to the union, lawyers for the paper have repeatedly failed to bring counterproposals to the table.
With no future bargaining sessions scheduled, Tanner said the union sent the company a letter last week asking for a new date, and to come ready with a new proposal.
As of Wednesday, the union had yet to hear back.
