Pittsburgh Press

The "Pittsburgh Press", now defunct, was a major daily newspaper in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was one of many competing city newspapers published prior to the First World War including The Hearst Corporation owned "Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph", the "Pittsburgh Dispatch", and the Block Communications owned "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette". At one time, the "Press" was the second largest newspaper in Pennsylvania, behind only the "Philadelphia Inquirer".

Joint Operating Agreement

In 1924, the "Press" was acquired by the Scripps-Howard Syndicate. During the 1960's, it entered into a Joint Operating Agreement (JOA) with thecompeting "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette". The "Post-Gazette" had previously purchased and merged with the Hearst Corporation's "Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph" leaving just itself and the much larger "Pittsburgh Press".

The Joint Operating Agreement (JOA) was to be managed by the "Pittsburgh Press" owners (E. W. Scripps Company) as the "Press" had the largest circulation and was the stronger of the two papers.

Under the JOA, the "Post-Gazette" became a 6 day morning paper, and the "Pittsburgh Press" became a 6 day afternoon paper in addition to publishing the sole Sunday paper.

This arrangement was in effect until Scripps began bargaining with the Teamsters union, whose contract with the "Press" expired in 1991. After a very lengthy Teamsters strike in 1992, Scripps sold the " Press" to Block Communications, the owners of the much smaller JOA paper, the "Post-Gazette", who promptly ceased printing the "Press" and folded it into the "Post-Gazette". The sale required a ruling by the U.S. Department of Justice as the JOA was regulated by the Newspaper Preservation Act of 1970.

The outcome was a surprise to many people in Pittsburgh, as the "Press" had a much higher profile, and was the larger of the two JOA papers, both in company size and in circulation. Before the 1992 strike, many assumed that the smaller "Post-Gazette" would cease publication when the JOA expired. The departure of the "Press" also meant that Scripps was exiting the Pittsburgh market entirely.

Sunday Edition

The Sunday edition was popular with readers because of its two comics sections, which included "Prince Valiant", "Peanuts", "Dick Tracy", "Blondie", "Gordo", "Priscilla's Pop", and "Jest in Pun", among many others, and because of the four inserted magazines: "Press TV Guide", "Family", "Roto", and "Weekly".

External links

* [http://www.post-gazette.com/aboutpg/history.asp History of the "Post-Gazette"]
* [http://www.usdoj.gov/atr/public/press_releases/1992/211327.htm Justice Department Will Not Challenge Acquisition Of Pittsburgh Press By The Post-Gazette]