Corporate Profiteers Destroyed Journalism. Worker-Owned Media Can Save It.

When workers at the historic Pittsburgh Post-Gazette newspaper hit the picket line in October of 2022, they had no idea that they would be on strike for over three years—or that the strike would end with new owners taking over the paper and most strikers losing their jobs. But now, a new chapter is being written in their epic story. This week, workers and community supporters launched the Pittsburgh Progress, “a cooperative news organization, owned and democratically run by its workers and members… dedicated to looking out for, and telling the stories of, the working-class people who form the heart and soul of our diverse communities.” In this episode of Working People, we discuss the birth of the Pittsburgh Progress, and what it means for working people in and beyond Pittsburgh, with Steve Mellon and Natalie Duleba, both former strikers at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and both founding worker-members of the newly launched Pittsburgh Progress.

Additional links/info:

• Pittsburgh Progress website, Facebook page, Bluesky page, and Instagram
• Steve Mellon, Pittsburgh Progress, “This new media cooperative invites the community to join us on our journey of creation”
• Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, “The longest-running strike in the US is over—and the workers won”
• Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, “They won their strike fair and square. Now their rich bosses are closing up shop”
• Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, “Venetoulis Institute 'saves' the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette by purging union members who went on strike”

Featured Music:

• Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song

Credits:

• Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor

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