John Robinson Block, publisher and editor-in-chief of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, on Monday named Keith Burris as its executive editor effective immediately.
Mr. Burris, 64, will retain his current job as editorial director of the Post-Gazette and its sister publication, the Toledo Blade, a role in which he oversees the opinion pages of both newspapers.
He succeeds David Shribman, who left the Post-Gazette in December after serving as executive editor since 2003.
"I'm proud that we can have somebody of Keith's standing with his background and leadership qualities that can help us get through this difficult time for our business and our country," Mr. Block said.
"He continues in the best tradition of our exemplary leaders of the past."
Mr. Burris, who has split his time between Pittsburgh and Toledo since being named editorial director of both papers in March, said he now will work full-time in Pittsburgh to oversee the news and editorial operations of the Post-Gazette.
“I have a very high regard for Keith Burris,” Allan Block, chairman of Block Communications, said Monday. “I have full confidence he can build on David Shribman’s achievements and take the Post-Gazette to a higher level of excellence in journalism.”
“It’s a great paper,” Mr. Burris said in an interview following the announcement.
“My goal is to build on that excellence and for [the Post-Gazette] to have a unified, productive, happy and excellent staff,” he said. “The comprehensiveness of the Post-Gazette and the writing and editing are really unusual for this day and age.”
He acknowledged the daunting challenges newspapers face as print circulation and advertising losses mount and they transition from print to digital.
He described the state of the news industry as “scary” and “chaotic.”
While social media and other forms of digital communication are “crowding out really serious, professional” publications, “The Post-Gazette still brings you more and you go there to learn,” he said.
Though he will oversee both the news operation and the editorial section of the Post-Gazette, Mr. Burris said he’s confident he can separate news coverage from opinion.
“Obviously, a professional person knows how to do it,” he said. “I’m uncomfortable with news stories that have opinion in them. Opinion sometimes masquerading as analysis really should be on the opinion pages.”
He said news coverage should be “inviolate” and “sacrosanct.”
“We don’t mess with it,” he said.
The late John Craig, who preceded Mr. Shribman as executive editor and led the Post-Gazette for 26 years, also supervised both the news and editorial departments, said Mr. Burris, who considers Mr. Craig to be his mentor.
“I don't think anyone would say John Craig could not make the distinction or was not a fine journalist,” said Mr. Burris.
Mr. Burris acknowledged controversies that have swirled around the Post-Gazette’s opinion pages since he took the helm, including the firing of longtime editorial cartoonist Rob Rogers in June, and reaction to recent work by Mr. Rogers’ successor, Steve Kelley, drawings that some have decried as anti-female.
After Mr. Rogers’ firing, the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh -- the union that represents about 150 writers, copy editors, photographers, artists and other newsroom employees -- along with newsroom managers purchased advertising space in print editions of the paper to emphasize newsroom operations are separate from the editorial pages.
The newsroom should continue to cover such controversies, said Mr. Burris, and the opinion pages should publish letters from readers who disagree with editorials and editorial cartoons.
Newspaper Guild president Michael A. Fuoco said Monday that the union had no comment on Mr. Burris’ appointment.
The appointment also comes on the heels of a dispute between Block Communications and the guild over an incident Feb. 9 involving John Robinson Block.
That night, according to an unfair labor practices charge filed by the union, Mr. Block came to the newsroom on the North Shore and threatened to fire employees or close the paper unless they stopped engaging in union activities.
In a statement issued six days later, Block Communications said it had reviewed accounts of the incident “and we disagree with the characterization of Saturday evening’s events as expressed by the Newspaper Guild.”
“The Publisher expresses his sincere regrets over his conduct that evening and did not intend his actions to upset anyone,” the statement said.
“We highly value our employees, and consider their safety and security a top priority,” the statement said. “We have and will continue to provide a safe work environment.”
Mr. Burris said he could not comment on the situation because the union’s charge is pending before the National Labor Relations Board.
The union and Block Communications are in negotiations over a new labor pact. The guild’s current contract expired in March 2017.
Mr. Burris grew up in Coshocton, Ohio, and earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and history from Kent State University.
He holds a master’s in political science and a doctorate in political philosophy from the University of Pittsburgh.
His first professional writing and editorials appeared in the Post-Gazette, he said.
His newspaper career includes stints at The Blade, the Winston-Salem Journal, the Hartford Courant, and the Journal Inquirer in Manchester, Conn., where he was editorial page editor for two decades.
He authored a 2013 book, “Deep River: The Life and Music of Robert Shaw” and edited “No-Fault Politics” by the late U.S. Sen. Eugene McCarthy.
Mr. Burris has also taught at Washington & Jefferson College, West Virginia University, Penn State University and Trinity College in Hartford, Conn.
Joseph Zerbey IV, retired vice president of newspaper operations for Block Communications, called Mr. Burris “the consummate journalist.”
“He has the expertise, energy and leadership ability to take the Post-Gazette to the next level of greatness.”
Mr. Burris and his wife, Amy, an artist and teacher, have three grown children.
Joyce Gannon: jgannon@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1580.
First Published: February 19, 2019, 3:11 a.m.