Top Steelers Reporter, Other Sports Scribes Leave Post-Gazette

PITTSBURGH, PA - Lost amid the fanfare of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette winning the Pulitzer Prize for beat reporting on Monday, was a significant blow to the newspaper's sports department. Ed Bouchette, the nationally respected Steelers' beat reporter and two other sports staffers left the newspaper.

Bouchette, Stephen J. Nesbitt and Sean Gentille all joined The Athletic, greatly bolstering the online sports publication's Pittsburgh presence.

"I put my newspaper career in what Mike Tomlin might call the rear view, but certainly not my journalistic career," Bouchette wrote in his introductory Athletic piece. "I’ll be heavy on analysis, opinion and good storytelling both during the week and after the game. It’s what I want to do at this point in my career and I’m thankful for the opportunity to do it."

Bouchette had been the P-G's Steelers beat reporter since 1984. He also worked as a contributor for years for Sports Illustrated and wrote for many national publications. He was a contributor at Fox Sports TV, and still does on-air work for 93.7 FM The Fan and KDKA-TV.

Bouchtte, Nesbitt and Gentille introduced themselves on The Athletic Monday as the Post-Gazette was awarded the Pulitzer for its breaking news coverage of the Tree of Life synagogue massacre in October.