A subsidiary of Toledo, Ohio-based Block Communications Inc. is buying Pittsburgh City Paper from Eagle Media, the publisher of the Butler Eagle, the companies announced on Wednesday.
The closing of the deal was anticipated this month, but the terms were not disclosed. All City Paper jobs will be retained and the publication will operate independently.
BCI wholly-owned subsidiary Cars Holding Inc. is acquiring the paper from Eagle Media, which has operated the weekly tabloid paper and digital site since 2016. Butler Eagle president and publisher Ron Vodenichar said City Paper was not a good fit for the Eagle.
“We have learned over time that the City Paper wasn’t a good fit for our business and trying to manage a Pittsburgh publication from a distance just wasn’t working. Cars Holding Inc. stepped up with their offer at the right time and saved the publication from a potential closing and saved the jobs of the employees,” Mr. Vodenichar said in a prepared release. “We wish the employees well and hope the publication, under strong ownership, experiences many more years of serving the city of Pittsburgh.”
BCI Chairman and CEO Allan Block said the company was committed to independent journalism.
“We believe in the need for independent journalism and are happy to further our commitment to the city of Pittsburgh and, specifically, to support this well established entertainment and alternative news publication,” Mr. Block said in a prepared statement.
BCI is a privately held, diversified media company that publishes the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and The Blade in Toledo, Ohio. The company also has operations in cable television, broadband, commercial telecommunications and television broadcasting.
Kris B. Mamula: kmamula@post-gazette.com
First Published: January 4, 2023, 7:06 p.m.
