The Pittsburgh Reporter is an American

online newspaper An online newspaper (or electronic news or electronic news publication) is the electronic publishing, online version of a newspaper, either as a stand-alone publication or as the online version of a printed periodical literature, periodical. Goin ...

based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1939 as a

weekly newspaper Weekly newspaper is a general-news or Current affairs (news format), current affairs publication that is issued once or twice a week in a wide variety broadsheet, magazine, and electronic publishing, digital formats. Similarly, a biweekly newspap ...

, it evolved into a daily online platform with a focusing on regional news and community issues. The Reporter has been a key voice for Southern Pittsburgh neighborhoods. Its leadership saw a notable shift in the 1970s with Roberta Smith at the helm as publisher/editor, later succeeded by her son Tom Smith in 1999. In 2023, the publication underwent significant expansion when Foo Conner consolidated several papers under The Pittsburgh Reporter name.

History

David Davies founded The Reporter in 1939. He previously worked at the

Pittsburgh Dispatch The ''Pittsburgh Dispatch'' was a leading newspaper in Pittsburgh, operating from 1846 to 1923. After being enlarged by publisher Daniel O'Neill (editor), Daniel O'Neill it was reportedly one of the largest and most prosperous newspapers in the Un ...

in the 1920s and Allegheny County Government in the 1930s. The paper was first printed from his home. Johnny Jones joined him as the business manager and became publisher in 1947. The paper's mission was to be, "A Progressive Community Newspaper." The Reporter initially covered local government, social events, and schools. After Jones died in 1967, his daughter ran it briefly. It was then sold to Typecraft Press. In the 1971, Roberta Smith joined as a freelancer. By 1978, she bought the paper for $1, renaming it The South Pittsburgh Reporter. It was still called The Reporter for short. Roberta Smith focused on community news and local leadership. She served on several non-profit boards and was the first female president of The Brashear Association. She retired in 2000, passing the paper to her son Tom Smith. Tom Smith continued the paper's focus on community service. He moved the headquarters to Allentown and served as the longstanding board president of the Hilltop Alliance. By 2020, The Reporter covered

Allentown Allentown may refer to: Places * Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California * Allentown, Georgia, a city in four counties in Georgia * Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Tazewell County * Allentown, New Jersey, a boroug ...

, Arlington, Beltzhoover, Bon Air, Carrick,

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

, Mount Oliver,

Mount Washington Mount Washington is an ultra-prominent mountain in the state of New Hampshire. It is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at and the most topographically prominent mountain east of the Mississippi River. The mountain is notorio ...

, Southside Flats, and South Side Slopes. The Reporter was distributed across 100 locations. The Reporter started a digital edition in the 1990s. It stopped its print edition temporarily in 2022 during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. In 2023, Foo Conner, a media entrepreneur, acquired The Reporter. Conner had run the Pittsburgh news outlet Jekko for over a decade. He merged other outlets into The Pittsburgh Reporter, marking the next chapter for the publication.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pittsburgh Reporter Alternative weekly newspapers published in the United States Newspapers published in Pittsburgh Newspapers established in 1939 1939 establishments in Pennsylvania