NRJ Book Review: Front-Page Pittsburgh: Two Hundred Years of the Post-Gazette

Abstract

Front-Page Pittsburgh: Two Hundred Years of the Post-Gazette, by Clarke M. Thomas (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2005) 332 pages, $34.95 (hardback).Reviewed by Mary Jane PardueTo say these are troubled times for newspapers is an understatement. 2007 finds the industry mired in 21st-century world of frenetically developing technologies, severe economic pressures and complicated ownership issues. Some say the challenges newspapers face are insurmountable and that they are doomed to fail. As all eyes are focused on the future, there is often little occasion to look back at the past. But perhaps reflection is in order. Newspapers are struggling in new world today, but they have faced overwhelming odds in the past. So it is important, as daily developments chart newspapers' changes, to keep in mind where they have been, how they navigated earlier times and why they remain viable part of American life.Clarke M. Thomas in Front-Page Pittsburgh recounts the history of the PostGazette. The story is one of enormous strength and courage told against the backdrop of an all-American city. For 200 years, the newspaper has been at the heart of Pittsburgh, documenting the history of American life.It is not an easy story to tell, but Thomas has access and unique perspective. Now retired from 43 years as print journalist in Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania, he retains the title of senior editor at the Post-Gazette.Front-Page Pittsburgh carefully documents the early days of the Pittsburgh Gazette, the first newspaper west of the Alleghenies, born on July 29,1786, the creation of John Scull and Joseph Hall, both 21-year-old printers. Thomas notes that the first issue three columns wide and 15 ? 9.75 inches, with front page that was solid mass of advertisements. Thomas describes the Gazette's content and challenges in the context of an evolving nation.The early days were not easy for the Gazette-or any newspaper in those days. But as the city changed so did the Gazette, with new designs and enhancements to better compete against growing list of rivals. As populations in U.S. cities increased, newspapers started up at rapid pace. The American newspaper landscape grew from 200 in 1801 to 1,200 in 1835. Thomas writes that in 1818 the Gazette was forced to give increasing prominence to advertising material. When the front page became a solid bank of advertisements, the editor wrote:Our advertising custom, though necessary for our support is already too great for our limits... and is daily encroaching upon that portion of our paper which we would wish to devote to useful and interesting matters.It is worth noting that at one point more than 50 newspapers were published in the city.The Post-Gazette today is the product of the 1927 merger of the Gazette and the Post, which arrived in Pittsburgh on Sept. 10,1842, as the Daily Morning Post. Thomas charts the rise of the Post against the backdrop of the developing city and the evolving Gazette. Of note for any student of newspapers is the valuable detail on circulation and subscription rates throughout the book and descriptions of the innovative approaches owners took over the years to survive. …