The Blade, Toledo’s longtime newspaper, filed a notice of closing with the state of Ohio on Oct. 23, a formal step toward a possible Dec. 31, 2026 shutdown that would affect 116 employees, The Monroe News reported.
Block Communications Inc., the newspaper’s owner, announced on Sept. 8 that The Blade would cease publication on Dec. 31, 2026 unless a buyer could be found, The Monroe News reported. The Oct. 23 filing is the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, known as a WARN notice, filed with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
Employers are required to give official notice to government units of a pending facility shutdown, according to the letter described by The Monroe News. In the letter, the layoff is described as permanent, and it will affect 116 employees, The Monroe News reported.
“Effects bargaining, severance pay and/or possible sale of the Company are actions being taken by the Company to mitigate or avoid the closure,” the letter said, according to The Monroe News’ report of the filing posted on the State of Ohio’s website.
Block Communications is a 122-year-old privately held media holding company headquartered in Toledo, with primary operations in cable television, newspaper publishing, high-speed internet and residential telephone services, according to the company’s website as cited by The Monroe News.
The Blade published its first edition in December 1835 and is one of Ohio’s oldest newspapers. Today, in addition to e-editions and online content, The Blade publishes print editions on Thursdays and Sundays, The Monroe News reported.
Whether the Dec. 31 date becomes final depends on the search for a buyer that Block Communications announced in September. The WARN filing does not by itself end that search, but it starts the formal notice clock for the newspaper’s 116 employees and for the government units the law requires be told.