Cars are parked near the building where the offices of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Feb. 14, 2019, in Pittsburgh. Associated Press File Photo

Our hearts dropped to the pits of our collective stomachs here at the Butler Eagle when we read the news: The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette will close May 3.

It’s heartbreaking for the news industry — a field that employs reporters, photographers and editors who are dedicated to documenting their communities, holding power to account and keeping people informed about the happenings in their neighborhoods.

The closure of the Post-Gazette, announced Wednesday by its owner Block Communications Inc., is also sad news for the residents of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania as a whole.

There’s the obvious: It’s the loss of a 240-year newspaper covering the state’s second largest city. But it’s more than that:

In communities that have lost their local newspapers — it’s been documented — there’s less engagement at the meetings featuring locally elected school board and council members, fewer voters who turn out for polls and potentially higher costs to taxpayers.

At a time where anyone with a phone and access to the internet can collect information though, you might wonder: Why do news organizations like the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the Butler Eagle matter so much?

If you live in Mars or Adams Township, local leaders were the ones who announced plans to merge. Slippery Rock’s Mayor Jondavid Longo will post messages about the borough to his Facebook page. Cranberry Township even puts together its own publication with community happenings.

You could try to follow the bits of information circulating the internet from a wide range of sources and trust that your government officials will spoon-feed you what you need, or you can subscribe to a local news organization like the Butler Eagle.

News organizations like the Butler Eagle dig deeper, keep conversations going and hold up journalistic standards for more than a century and a half.

We relentlessly told the story of Butler native Marc Fogel’s detainment in Russia through his February 2025 release, seeing a need to make noise about the local teacher’s dire situation. Also in 2025, we covered the evolution of sewage plans in Connoquenessing Township and policing in Middlesex — keeping the topics relevant and asking questions like, “What’s happening here?” and “What could the future look like?”

Amid crises, we’re staffed to respond: Fires, floods and even an assassination attempt in our county. We’re quick to report and then intentional about following up and learning more to share with our community.

In the past, we’ve pushed to learn about lead in the water at a local school district, and because of our longevity, we’re poised to see trends. For instance, a series about addiction and recovery in early 2024 looked at how far Butler County had come in fighting substance abuse. People from across Western Pennsylvania reached out to tell us about how that reporting changed the perceptions in their communities.

We know newsrooms make a difference, so the news of the Post-Gazette’s intended closure hits close to home. It’s a mere hour away, and it is printed twice a week right here at the Eagle’s West Wayne Street offices.

We won’t sugarcoat it: This hurts us emotionally, but financially, too.

One social media commenter pondered, would the Eagle be next? That’s not our plan. Our efforts to tell the stories of Butler County and be a source of information for our community will go on.

The path forward may look different, but forward we will go.

But, at least, for this moment, we join all of Western Pennsylvania in mourning the Post-Gazette — a proud Pittsburgh newspaper that has been an asset to our region for 240 years.

— TL