Paul Block
Paul Block (died 1941) was an American newspaper publisher and advertising representative who founded a firm selling national advertising for newspapers in 1900, acquired The Blade of Toledo in 1926 and created the Pittsburgh Post-GazettePittsburgh Post-GazetteThe Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is a newspaper in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, descended from the Pittsburgh Gazette, founded in 1786 as the first newspaper west of the Allegheny Mountains. Run by the Block family from 1927 for nearly a century, it has won several Pulitzer Prizes. A three-year labor strike began in 2022, and after its owner announced a closure in 2026, its assets passed to the nonprofit Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism.Open the full entry in 1927; his family business later became Block CommunicationsBlock CommunicationsBlock Communications, Inc. (BCI) is a privately held family media holding company headquartered in Toledo, Ohio. Rooted in the newspaper advertising firm Paul Block founded in 1900, it long operated The Blade, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, several television stations and the Buckeye Broadband cable and internet business.Open the full entry.
Contents7 sections
Key facts
1885–1900Emigration and Business
Paul Block was born into poverty in East Prussia to parents who had come from Lithuania; his father later worked as a rag-picker in Elmira, New York.[1]
In 1885 he emigrated from Germany to upstate New York and later worked in newspapers in Elmira and New York City; in 1900 he left a secure job to form an ad rep firm selling national advertising for client newspapers.[2]
Another account says he was born in Elmira in 1877 and attended its public schools and Cornell UniversityCornell UniversityCornell University is a private research university in Ithaca, New York, and a member of the Ivy League. It is New York State's federal land-grant university, a distinction unique within the Ivy League. Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White founded the university in 1865, and it opened in 1868. In addition to its Ithaca campus, Cornell operates Weill Cornell Medicine and Cornell Tech in New York City and a medical college in Qatar. It enrolled 26,793 students in fall 2024. Its president is Michael I. Kotlikoff.Open the full entry.[3]
1926–1927The Blade and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
He acquired The Blade of Toledo in 1926 and created the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in 1927.[4]
By 1927 he was publisher of 11 newspapers in cities including New York City, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Detroit, Toledo and Memphis.[5]
1920sPolitical and Social Ties
He was a close friend of several presidents, especially Calvin Coolidge; he let New York Mayor Jimmy Walker use his apartments, and a special fund he set up for the mayor later proved deeply embarrassing. Marion Davies was his mistress before becoming Hearst’s.[1]
1931Leading a Jewish Philanthropy Campaign
Active in Jewish philanthropy, he led the 1931 campaign of the New York Federation for the Support of Jewish Philanthropic Societies.[3]
1941Death
He died in 1941 after several months of illness, and his funeral was held at Temple Emanu-El in Manhattan. He was then president of Paul Block and Associates and publisher of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Toledo Blade and the Toledo Times, and was survived by his widow and two sons.[3]
His newspaper holdings were split between his two sons: after the war Paul Jr. took over The Blade and William ran the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.[6]
Related Organizations, Websites, and Public Accounts
Block Communications: Official website: https://www.blockcommunications.com/ (opens in a new window)[2]
The Blade: Official website: https://www.toledoblade.com/ (opens in a new window)[1]
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Official website: https://www.post-gazette.com/ (opens in a new window)[2]
Sources
- Paul Block: Story of success (opens in a new window)
- BCI – Block Communications Inc. (opens in a new window)
- Services Held for Paul Block, Famous Publisher (opens in a new window)
- Blocked Out (opens in a new window)
- Our History – BCI (opens in a new window)
- Block Communications, Inc. - Company Profile, Information, Business Description, History, Background Information on Block Communications, Inc. (opens in a new window)