Toledo Blade selling assets, could cease publication by end of December

Stack of newspaper articles. (Photo: AbsolutVision/Unsplash)

TOLEDO, Ohio — Toledo may not have a local newspaper, and sports fans will have to find an alternative if it doesn't sell off its assets, according to an email sent to employees, obtained by WTOL 11.

The Toledo Blade is owned by Block Communications and the Block Family, owners since 1926, of a newspaper publication that is 191 years old. 

In the email, Block Communications told employees that years of financial losses are unsustainable and that, if the publication isn't sold, they would cease operations by Dec. 31; that would be the last, and would include both digital and print publications. 

The decision came after Toledo NewsGuild members rejected management's final two-year contract proposal. 

"The Block Family's continued investment to keep the Blade open is no longer an option," said Block Communications President and Chief Operating Officer Jodi Miehls. "The financial losses the Blade has endured for years are simply not sustainable."

There was no public information on the amount of loss or potential buyers, according to the email. 

For now, employees were told it's business as usual.