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The Pittsburgh Press

The Pittsburgh Press, formerly The Pittsburg Press and originally The Evening Penny Press, was a major afternoon daily newspaper published in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for over a century, from 1884 to 1992. At the height of its popularity, the Press was the second-largest newspaper in Pennsylvania behind The Philadelphia Inquirer. For four years starting in 2011, the brand was revived and applied to an afternoon online edition of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Type

Afternoon Daily newspaper (historical)
Afternoon Daily online newspaper

E. W. Scripps Company (1923–1992)
Block Communications (2011–2015)

June 23, 1884

English

July 28, 1992 (in print)

November 14, 2011–September 25, 2015

History[edit]

19th century[edit]

The history of the Press traces back to an effort by Thomas J. Keenan Jr. to buy The Pittsburg Times newspaper, at which he was employed as city editor. Joining Keenan in his endeavor were reporter John S. Ritenour of the Pittsburgh Post, Charles W. Houston of the city clerk's office, and U.S. Representative Thomas M. Bayne.[1]


After examining the Times and finding it in a poor state, the group changed course and decided to start a new penny paper in hopes that it would flourish in a local market full of two- and three-cent dailies.[2] The first issue appeared on June 23, 1884.[3]


A corporation was formed, with Bayne as the largest shareholder.[1] Initially called The Evening Penny Press, the newspaper's name changed to The Pittsburg Press on October 19, 1887.[4][5] The paper referred to the city as "Pittsburg" until August 1921, when the letter 'h' was added.[6]

List of defunct newspapers of the United States

, current owner of the "Press" name and present-day heir to its archives.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Pittsburgh Press Co. v. Pittsburgh Commission on Human Relations

at Newspapers.com

The Pittsburgh Press archive