Congressman Chris Deluzio Calls on DOJ to Scrutinize the Post-Gazette’s Purchase of Pittsburgh City Paper

ASPINWALL, PA – Today, Congressman Chris Deluzio sent a letter to Assistant Attorney General Kanter raising antitrust, consolidation, and labor concerns regarding the purchase of the local alt-weekly Pittsburgh City Paper by a subsidiary of Block Communications, owner of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He calls on the Department of Justice to scrutinize this acquisition and the overall consolidation of Pittsburgh’s local news market to determine if this purchase violates current antitrust laws.

In his letter to the Assistant Attorney General, Congressman Deluzio raises concerns on the issue of labor protections for workers at Pittsburgh City Paper being acquired by an employer who is actively being rebuked for unfair labor practices. Dozens of workers at the Post-Gazette are currently on strike over unfair labor practices and have not received a raise in over 16 years. One such striking employee, James “Hutchie” VanLandingham, was Congressman Deluzio’s guest to this year’s State of the Union.

“To have employees of the Post-Gazette and the City Paper under the same employer, who has illegally imposed working conditions and unlawfully surveilled workers engaged in union activities, raises serious alarms,” reads Congressman Deluzio’s letter to Assistant Attorney General Kanter. “In light of these serious concerns, I respectfully urge the Department of Justice to scrutinize this acquisition and the consolidation of Pittsburgh’s local news market generally to determine whether this purchase also violates antitrust laws.”

The Congressman’s letter also states that he believes this purchase will further consolidate the local media market and risks stifling certain coverage and perspectives within the western Pennsylvania press corps.

“For decades, the Post-Gazette bought its competitors only for it to later cut their publication and, most recently, for the Post-Gazette to cut its own production,” writes the Congressman in his letter. “The same is true for the region’s alt-weekly market, which the City Paper dominates. Should the same parent company effectively control these publications, I am concerned that our region will lose a diversity in viewpoint in the ever-decreasing coverage of local, state, and national affairs. The trends suggest that further consolidation will leave Western Pennsylvanians with a weaker free and open press.”

The NewsGuild-CWA, who represents newsroom staff at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, has also written to the Department of Justice to voice their concerns on the likely negative impact of this consolidation on their membership and the community at large. 

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