Some UPMC hospitals are banning the Post-Gazette from sale in their gift shops, a move UPMC spokesman Paul Wood said was precipitated by “fairness issues” in the newspaper’s coverage of the health system.

At least three UPMC hospitals -- UPMC Shadyside, UPMC Mercy and Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC -- say they will no longer sell the newspaper.

Twice in recent years, UPMC executives have canceled the health giant’s advertising in the PG, citing dissatisfaction with the way UPMC was covered in the news pages and how it was portrayed in editorials and editorial cartoons.

''The Post-Gazette is edited without regard to any special interest, and our news columns are not for sale, at any price,'' said John Robinson Block, publisher of the newspaper. ''We have been here since 1786, and have as our purpose the same goal that UPMC was established for -- to serve the public's interest, not a narrow purpose.''

Post-Gazette Circulation Director Randy Waugaman said this week that PG delivery staff members were told by gift shop workers at UPMC Shadyside, UPMC Mercy and Children’s Hospital that they would not display the paper for sale.

“Our people tried to reason with them,'' Mr. Waugaman said, ''but the gift shop personnel said that they were ordered to do so by their superiors and it was out of their control.”

UPMC officials did not respond Tuesday to questions asking which specific stories they found objectionable.

''We believe that our coverage of UPMC has been fair-minded in every respect,'' said David M. Shribman, the newspaper's executive editor. ''Every entity in every town feels aggrieved at some point by what a good newspaper writes. It's part of living in a free society where the exchange of news and information is prized, not punished.''

But health system officials have often criticized stories, editorials, and editorial cartoons published in the Post-Gazette in recent years, most frequently in its coverage of the ongoing contract battle with insurer Highmark and, in years past, about the health giant's real-estate holdings and its business practices.

The Post-Gazette also recently published stories about UPMC’s transplant program being placed on probation over its handling of donor organs and another in which some questioned its assertion that UPMC Braddock was closed because the facility was underutilized.

Steve Twedt: stwedt@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1963.

First Published: June 24, 2015, 4:00 a.m.