Toledo Blade reporters hold byline strike in protest of edits to Capitol attack stories

Summary (IA Generated)

Reporters at the Toledo Blade in Ohio are holding a byline strike in response to their management’s editing of stories related to the attack on the U.

The union also referenced online comments falsely stating the election was stolen made by Susan Allan Block, the wife of Allan Block, chair of Blade parent company Block Communications.

“(M)anagement at The Blade manipulated wording in headlines, stories, and photo captions to alter the reality of what occurred during the insurrection at the Capitol,” the union wrote.

Editors changed stories to “muddy the waters” on who was responsible for the Capitol attack and gave orders to not refer to the rioters as Trump supporters, Blade reporter and union president Nolan Rosenkrans said at a press conference Friday.

After she noticed that the lede in her story online had been changed to state that it was “mostly” Trump supporters who incited violence, she asked editors to remove her byline.

The union also criticized comments made by Susan Allan Block supporting the attack.

A Facebook post from Susan Allan Block, the wife of Allan Block, chair of Toledo Blade parent company Block Communications (Screenshot).

Asked about the Facebook post, Blade publisher John Block refused to comment but told WTOL-11 that he has edited the paper for years and grew up without bylines on stories.

Members of the Block family have supported Trump and have been accused of pressuring reporters in the past to edit stories to reflect a more conservative bent.

Under the Blocks’ ownership, the Post-Gazette faced controversy for publishing an inflammatory “Reason as Racism” editorial in 2018 and for barring Alexis Johnson, a Black reporter, from covering the Black Lives Matter protests last summer.

Post-Gazette reporters who tweeted in support of Johnson were also barred from covering protests.

At the Friday press conference, Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh unit secretary Ashley Murray said they are calling on the Blocks to apologize for the Facebook post and to negotiate a contract with the two unions.