Post-Gazette Removes Two Black Journalists From Protest Coverage

PITTSBURGH, PA — The union representing the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's editorial staff want advertisers to contact the newspaper's management and voice dissatisfaction over its decision to remove two black journalists from ongoing coverage of protests in the city.

Post-Gazette reporter Alexis Johnson last week was pulled from covering demonstrations over the recent death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died while being taken into custody by Minneapolis police officers. The officers are facing murder and other charges.

Johnson was told that management was convinced her coverage could not be unbiased because of a tweet she posted:

On Friday, photojournalist Michael Santiago was also pulled from covering the protests.

The Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh held a news conference outside of the newspaper's North Shore offices Monday to criticize the paper's owners, the Block family, and editor Keith C. Burris for removing Johnson and Santiago from protest coverage.

The union has issued three demands of the newspaper's management:

• Rescind the ban and allow the black journalists to cover "the most monumental civil rights movement in more than 50 years."

• Stop retaliating against their supporters at the paper.

• Fulfill the paper's mission by adequately and ethically covering the protests and related issues.

“We will continue to serve our community, even as the Blocks and Burris attempt to stand in the way of our commitment to our calling as journalists,” Guild President Michael A. Fuoco said. “We hope and pray that the Blocks and Burris come to their senses before they permanently destroy an iconic newspaper whose roots go back to reporting on passage of the US. Constitution.”