#newspaper-closure

#newspaper-closure

When the email dropped in my inbox, I knew it was bad news, but like the ocean exposing tide pools just before a tsunami, I assumed the Post-Gazette was on an upward trajectory. It was 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 7, and I had just stepped into the shower when my phone dinged with a text from my coworker in a group chat. I drew back the curtain and opened my phone, pearls of water momentarily obscuring the screen.

More than five years ago, the newspaper declared it had reached a bargaining impasse with the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh and unilaterally imposed terms and conditions of employment on those workers. The paper was later found to have bargained in bad faith by making offers that were not intended to help reach a deal and by declaring an impasse prematurely.

A decision to close the newspaper has been taken, and the appropriate procedures are now experiencing a steady decline in readership and advertising in recent years. As the consumption of news has increasingly shifted to online media, print newspapers have struggled to compete with digital platforms and social media outlets. The challenging circumstances created by this radically altered and irreversible commercial environment have seen The Northern Standard struggle to sustain its long-term viability.