Block family calls sustained financial losses unsustainable for Blade
Block Communications announced Tuesday it is seeking a buyer for The Blade, its Toledo, Ohio, newspaper. The company said that if a sale cannot be completed, both the print and digital editions of the Blade will stop publishing at the end of 2026.
The announcement was delivered to the Blade’s staff by email. Jodi Miehls, Block Communications’ president and chief operating officer, called the decision “an extremely difficult decision.” She wrote that “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,” according to the Blade.
Block Communications cited similar financial pressures when it announced in January that it would cease publishing the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, with the scheduled shutdown set for May. About two weeks before that May shutdown date, the company said the nonprofit Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism would acquire the Post-Gazette and keep it operating, averting the planned shutdown. MSI previously reported that the Post-Gazette found a nonprofit buyer to avoid the May 3 shutdown.
No buyer has been announced for the Toledo paper. The Blade’s newsroom was informed of the decision by email on Tuesday. The paper itself reported on the development.