Let’s acknowledge something amazing has happened in Pittsburgh’s local media landscape
In defiance of the universal trend toward disappearing local journalism, Western PA is experiencing something of a renaissance. If you follow American media, you know local print journalism is dying and that death has direct impact on everything from accountability in local politics to disengagement of citizens in things that matter within their communities. But enshittification, it turns out, is not an irreversible trend.
Let’s start with the Pittsburgh-Post Gazette. (BTW, I am in no way connected to the paper, except as a longtime subscriber. I ain’t shilling for nobody.) This past May, the paper was acquired by Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism, a Maryland-based nonprofit organization. For longstandinig readers, the transformation has been profound. The Blocks (previous owners) were horrible in multiple ways and became like parasites attached to our venerable old rag. They starved local reporting and what they did cover was only an inch deep. Today, the paper’s investigative journalism is of incredibly high quality, routinely running articles of great depth and importance. I’m not exaggerating when I say the journalistic standards are up there with the NYT. I don’t know how Venetoulis is doing it, but I hope they can continue. I’m sure getting new subscribers would probably help. (Okay, maybe I am shilling slightly but only because I know our town needs sunlight and accountability. Democracy dies in darkness, as they say.)
And let’s also call out WESA, which has also been on a tear for the past few years. They were just named “Outstanding News Operation” at the 2026 Keystone Media Awards for its exceptional local reporting in Western PA. And this has happened despite major Federal cuts. It’s funded entirely by yinzers and they’re kicking ass day in day out.
There are other news organizations like the Pittsburgh City Paper, Next Pittsburgh, and other independent outlets doing great journalism too. I can’t speak to the quality of Scaife’s old fishwrap or to local TV news (but I assume it’s mostly garbage and sports reporting).
The point of this post is to say, we have something special here. Most markets—even those much larger than ours—are going rapidly in the other direction. Major metros across the country have zero local print journalism and we all know how TV can NEVER substitute for real journalism, especially in this era of Sinclair and the like buying up local channels. I hope my fellow yinzers appreciate and support what we have going on here in the ‘Burgh.