''The Blade'', also known as the ''Toledo Blade'', is a

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the western end of Lake Erie along the Maumee River. Toledo is the List of cities in Ohio, fourth-most populous city in Ohio and List of United Sta ...

, published daily online and printed Thursday and Sunday by

Block Communications Block Communications Inc. (also known as Blade Communications) is an American privately held holding company of various assets, mainly in the print and broadcast media, based in Toledo, Ohio. The company was founded in 1900 in New York City when ...

. The newspaper was first published on December 19, 1835.

Overview

The first issue of what was then the ''Toledo Blade'' was printed on December 19, 1835. It has been published daily since 1848 and is the oldest continuously run business in Toledo. David Ross Locke gained national fame for the paper during the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

era by writing under the pen name Petroleum V. Nasby. Under this name, he wrote satires ranging on topics from

slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

, to the Civil War, to temperance. President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

was fond of the Nasby satires and sometimes quoted them. In 1867 Locke bought the ''Toledo Blade''. The paper dropped "Toledo" from its masthead in 1960. In 2004 ''The Blade'' won the

Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting Pulitzer may refer to: *Joseph Pulitzer, a 19th century media magnate *Pulitzer Prize, an annual U.S. journalism, literary, and music award *Pulitzer (surname) * Pulitzer, Inc., a U.S. newspaper chain *Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, a non-pro ...

with a series of stories entitled "Buried Secrets, Brutal Truths". The story brought to light the story of the Tiger Force, a Vietnam fighting force that brutalized the local population. In 2006, ''The Blade'' was a finalist for a

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

, and winner of the National Headliner Award, for breaking the scandal in Ohio known as Coingate. As of 2015, the editor in chief is John Robinson Block. His family purchased the paper in 1926. They also own the media conglomerate

, which owns cable systems, television stations, and the

Internet service provider An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides a myriad of services related to accessing, using, managing, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, no ...

Buckeye Express. ''The Blade'' had the 83rd largest daily newspaper circulation in the United States. The Toledo ''Blade'' was named for the famed swordsmithing industry of the original city of

Toledo, Spain Toledo ( ; ) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality of Spain, the capital of the province of Toledo and the ''de jure'' seat of the government and parliament of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castilla� ...

. Its motto, on the nameplate below the title, is "One of America's Great Newspapers." File:A Bunch of Blade Hustlers, Toledo, Ohio - DPLA - 72f874034fd5ed263edf7a3322927a4b (page 1).jpg, alt=Toledo Blade Newsboys, 1900s, Toledo Blade Newsboys, 1900s File:The Blade delivery vehicle.jpg, A Toledo Blade delivery vehicle in

Bowling Green, Ohio Bowling Green is a city in Wood County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 30,808 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located southwest of Toledo, Ohio, Toledo, it is part of the Toledo metropolitan area and ...

Events

In 2007

photojournalist Photojournalism is journalism that uses images to tell a news story. It usually only refers to still images, but can also refer to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (suc ...

Allan Detrich left ''The Blade'' when it was discovered that he had digitally altered a photo that was published on the front page of the March 31, 2007, edition. A subsequent investigation revealed that he had digitally altered and submitted 79 photos during the first 14 weeks of 2007, 58 of which ran either in ''The Blade'' or on its

website A website (also written as a web site) is any web page whose content is identified by a common domain name and is published on at least one web server. Websites are typically dedicated to a particular topic or purpose, such as news, educatio ...

. Members of several unions worked without contracts from March to August 2006. Over the course of August 2006, ''The Blade'' locked out over 25% of its

employees Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any othe ...

. The strike and lockout ended in May 2007. In May 2014, Block Communications announced plans to close ''The Blade''s production facility, including the

printing presses A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in which the ...

, located in the downtown headquarters building.

''Toledo Free Press'' lawsuit

Total Eclipse of the Sons editorial cartoon

In October 2011, ''The Blade'' filed a lawsuit against rival publication the '' Toledo Free Press'', claiming that former ''Blade'' general manager and current ''Free Press'' publisher Thomas F. Pounds violated a 2004 separation agreement containing a

non-compete clause In contract law, a non-compete clause (often NCC), restrictive covenant, or covenant not to compete (CNC), is a clause under which one party (usually an employee) agrees not to enter into or start a similar profession or trade in competition again ...

. According to the ''Free Press'', ''The Blade'' took exception to an

editorial cartoon A political cartoon, also known as an editorial cartoon, is a cartoon graphic with caricatures of public figures, expressing the artist's opinion. An artist who writes and draws such images is known as an editorial cartoonist. They typically co ...

criticizing ''The Blade'' stance on downtown development plans by

Rave Cinemas Rave Cinemas, formerly known as "Rave Motion Pictures", is a movie theater brand founded in 1999 and owned by Cinemark Theatres. It previously was headed by Thomas W. Stephenson, Jr., former CEO of Hollywood Theaters, and Rolando B. Rodriguez, f ...

and Hollywood Casino Toledo; ''The Blade'' cited the cartoon among the grounds for its lawsuit: "On or about August 21, 2011, Pounds... permitted ''Toledo Free Press'' to publish a cartoon that depicted a characterization of John R. Block and Allan Block together with ''The Blade'' as casting an eclipsing shadow on jobs, tax revenue, investment and development in Toledo, Ohio." In December 2011, the ''Free Press'' responded to the lawsuit and filed a counterclaim, asserting that ''Blade'' owners

were "attempting to exercise

prior restraint Prior restraint (also referred to as prior censorship or pre-publication censorship) is censorship imposed, usually by a government or institution, on expression, that prohibits particular instances of expression. It is in contrast to censorship ...

" on the ''Free Press'' and that since the non-compete agreement expired in 2005, the ''Blade'' use of it as a legal weapon in 2011 was "simply as a tool to economically harm" the ''Free Press'' and its publisher, and "well beyond the bounds of fair and legal competition."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blade, The 1835 establishments in Ohio Mass media in Toledo, Ohio Daily newspapers published in the United States Newspapers published in Ohio Newspapers established in 1835