The ''Toledo Free Press'' was a weekly newspaper which was published from 2005 to 2015 in
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 ...
. It was relaunched in 2024 as an online-only publication at the same Web address.
History
It was founded in March 2005 by Thomas Pounds, a veteran administrator of daily newspapers in Toledo and
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
. On March 10, 2010, the paper added a Wednesday edition called the ''Toledo Free Press STAR'', that was only available on newsstands throughout Northwest Ohio. The second edition focuses "on local arts and sports with a comprehensive calendar of events."
https://toledofreepress.com/tfp_returns/The paper published a blend
investigative journalism
Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, racial injustice, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend m ...
, commentary, and local news and features in a
tabloid format, concentrating on covering news often missed by the other periodicals in the area.
In May 2010, ''Toledo Free Press'' started offering digital "e-PRESS" versions of both editions of its paper via
Issuu
Issuu, Inc. (pronounced "issue") is a Danish-founded American electronic publishing platform based in Palo Alto, California, United States. The company's software converts PDFs into customizable digital publications that can be shared via links ...
. More than 450 editions have been uploaded, with impressions totaling more than 800,000.
In December 2006, the paper announced it was moving its distribution day from Wednesday to Sunday. From its initial circulation of 30,000, the paper grew to a circulation of more than 100,000 in its heyday and declined to a 2014 circulation of 72,000, with 57,000 free home delivered.
Closure

On April 27, 2015, the paper announced its closure, citing legal troubles and ad pricing. The legal troubles undoubtedly include an ongoing lawsuit from 2011 by ''
The Blade'' against the ''Toledo Free Presss publisher, Thomas F. Pounds, citing breach of contract by Mr. Pounds in his "Separation Agreement" with "The Blade" (his former employer). Home-improvement chain
Menard Inc. filed a suit in Lucas County Common Pleas Court in April 2015, accusing the weekly newspaper of failing to inform the company of declining circulation or to adjust its billing for advertising services.
The complaint alleges the ''Free Press'' "intended to mislead: Menard because it "was paid by the number of print advertisements it circulated."
The newspaper continued to publish to its website and its Facebook page until May 14, 2015.
In 2020, five years after the newspaper ceased publication, a group of volunteers, including former staffers and contributors and led by community activist Sean Nestor, undertook a yearlong project to restore the paper's archives to searchable public accessibility.
In July 2024, the paper relaunched as an online-only publication with Pounds as publisher.
[And ... the TFP is back! https://toledofreepress.com/tfp_returns/]
References
External links
Archive of final ''Toledo Free Press'' website from May 2015''Toledo Free Press'' Issuu profile
Defunct newspapers published in Ohio
Mass media in Toledo, Ohio
{{Ohio-newspaper-stub