Toledo Blade warns it could cease to exist

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - The city of Toledo might soon be without a daily newspaper for the first time in more than 190 years.

The Toledo Blade is reporting that if Block Communications is unable to find a buyer for the newspaper, it will cease publication at the end of 2026. Leaders of The Blade say they plan to shut down by the end of the year unless a buyer steps in, putting jobs at risk and threatening the loss of a local institution.

In an article published Tuesday, the paper wrote that its parent corporation was looking to sell The Blade’s assets. It went on to say that if it is unable to sell, there will be no newspaper published on Jan. 1, 2027.

“Unfortunately, an extremely difficult decision has been made,” Jodi Miehls, president and chief operating officer of Block Communications, said in an email to Blade staff on Tuesday. “The Block Family’s continued investment to keep the Blade open is no longer an option. The financial losses the Blade has endured for years are simply not sustainable.”

Earlier this year, Block Communications said its other major newspaper, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, would end publication in May. It was sold to Vernoulis Institute for Local Journalism soon after.

A newspaper struggling in the U.S. in the last 20 years is not a new story, but so far The Blade has hung on, publishing material every day online. The paper is now printing two days a week.

Newspaper published daily since 1835

If you only use the online version, the print edition of a newspaper may be foreign to you. But an edition of the Toledo Blade was made each day since 1835, two years before Toledo became a city.

Jack Lessenberry, a former Blade writer, editor and ombudsman, said the loss of an institution like a newspaper is jarring.

“I thought that for many years The Blade was the glue, the thing that bound Toledoans together. Whether they loved it or hated it,” Lessenberry said.

“Not having a paper, you basically don’t have a community that has any sort of cohesion,” Lessenberry said. “Religious communities are usually held together by a sacred book. Communities, towns, cities in America, especially middle-sized cities like Toledo, were often held together by their newspaper. And the Toledo Blade was a very thorough and very responsible newspaper for many, many years.”

Union responds to closure announcement

Lillian King, Blade features writer and Toledo NewsGuild bargaining chair, said the jobs of the union’s 80 members are in jeopardy. She said the union negotiated for years for a fair and responsible contract.

King also said the company’s proposal sought to have the union give up basic protections about job security and about the ability to trust that their work would remain their own rather than be infused with artificial intelligence, which the company refused to disclose to the public.

“I’m extremely disappointed that the company has chosen to close The Blade rather than work with the Guild and work with its workers towards not just an equitable contract, but a profitable future,” King said. “You know, that’s something that we really believed in and are saddened to experience this outcome.”

The full statement from the Toledo NewsGuild, including additional details on the contract vote and comments from King and Toledo NewsGuild President Mac Arnold, is below.

Full statement from the Toledo NewsGuild

The Toledo News Guild released the following statement Tuesday following The Blade’s announcement:

The Toledo Blade ended employees’ Labor Day weekend with an email Tuesday morning announcing it would close on Dec. 31 if it is not sold by then.

Prior to the announcement, the company had asked union employees to vote for a contract proposal that would have cut their severance in half, in addition to greenlighting giving away their work to AI, among other outsourcing.

Workers voted that down, 46-25. Union members’ objections were largely non-economical. This was reflected in Guild counterproposals.

Following the vote, Blade Guild members returned to the bargaining table offering yet another compromise to the Company on Thursday. The Block Communications Inc. board met the next day.

“It’s disappointing that Block Communications would rather shutter the paper than work toward an equitable contract. The Company’s proposal would have axed seniority, halved severance for its most experienced employees, and allowed the outsourcing of all Guild work. All content at The Blade could be created or edited with AI, with no protections for journalists or requirements to disclose AI usage to its readers,” said Lillian King, Blade features writer and Toledo NewsGuild bargaining chair.

“Signing that contract would have meant signing away our self-respect, and with it, Toledo’s mandate for ethical journalism. After nearly 200 years of operating one of the nation’s great newspapers, Toledo deserves better,” King said.

In its attempts to pressure workers into voting to cut their severance in half, Blade management also made clear that doing so would not necessarily keep the paper open, either.

“Blade workers would welcome new ownership that shares our commitment to local news as well as to the people of Toledo, and would look forward to working with any such prospective buyers,” said Mac Arnold, Blade outdoors writer and Toledo NewsGuild president.

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