Ella Mae Warren, left, 82, opens her daily copy of The Vindicator brought to her by her caretaker and daughter, Gail Warren, 62, on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2019, at their home on the East Side of Youngstown, Ohio. Gail picks up her morning coffee and a paper for her mother most days at a local doughnut shop, which her mother reads cover to cover to keep up with her beloved sports teams. “I could really cry,” said Ella Mae of the closing of the paper. “This is what she lives for right here,” said Gail, patting the day’s edition of The Vindicator. “This is her lifeline to everything.” (Stephanie Strasburg/Post-Gazette)Mark Brown, 60, of Boardman, Ohio, general manager of The Vindicator, stands in the papers conference room surrounded by historic front pages of its 150-year history on Friday, Aug. 2, 2019, in Youngstown, Ohio. The pages show U.S. claiming victory in the Gulf War, the 1969 moon landing, the first Chevy rolling off the lines at Lordstown, Ohio. The room is where he announced to his staff that the paper would be closing on Aug. 31. (Stephanie Strasburg/Post-Gazette)From left, regional editor Ernie Brown, 67, working at The Vindicator for 43 years; managing editor Mark Sweetwood, there for 11.5 years; and regional editor Tom Wills, 57, there for 34 years, run a meeting on the next day’s paper on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2019, in the newsroom in Youngstown, Ohio. Mr. Sweetwood said the newsroom team is sending the paper off with a week of hard-hitting journalism. This building runs 24 hours a day, were part of a cycle, said Mr. Sweetwood, listing all the steps and teams that build the paper everyday. (Stephanie Strasburg/Post-Gazette)Press operator John Frazee, 46, calls down to fellow operator Robin Yeager, not pictured, during a paper roll change at The Vindicator presses in the early morning hours of Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2019, in Youngstown, Ohio. Ms. Yeager was hired straight out of trade school and has been working 27 years in newspaper printing, 19 of them at The Vindicator. She’s been struggling to figure out what to do next with the job market shrinking for people with her skill set. “It’s been a good career, I can’t complain,” she said. “The camaraderie, just being able to put something out on the streets where you can go and say, ‘Hey, that’s my handwork over there.’ To be able to provide something for the community.” (Stephanie Strasburg/Post-Gazette)From left, Mark Sweetwood, 59, managing editor; Tom Wills, 57, regional editor; Shirley Sallmen, 50, assistant design desk chief; Kellie Jones-Cochran, 51, copy editor and designer; and Cynthia Rickard, 66, regional editor, plan the next day’s edition of The Vindicator on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2019, in papers newsroom in Youngstown, Ohio. The five have about 265 cumulative years among them at The Vindicator. This is the only place Ive ever worked, said Ms. Sallmen, whos been employed at the paper for almost 29 years. Its like losing a part of who you are. Knowing you wont see some of these people that you see five days a week, you just cant think about it. (Stephanie Strasburg/Post-Gazette)West Side Bowl owner Nathan Offerdahl, of Austintown, Ohio, talks at his bowling alley/music venue/restaurant on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2019, in Youngstown, OhioÕs West Side. ÒMuch of the critical coverage of us getting started was in The Vindicator,Ó said Mr. Offerdahl of taking a risk on opening the venue in March of 2018. ÒWe got huge response when those articles postedÉ we would not have gotten the quick push that we got if it wasnÕt because of them.Ó (Stephanie Strasburg/Post-Gazette)Timmy Hicks, right, 7, waits to train with Burnside Boxing owner Keith Burnside, back left, 56, at his gym on Aug. 7, 2019, in their town of Struthers, Ohio. Mr. Burnside points to a corkboard full of newspaper clippings featuring the successes of his boxers. Oh it hurts because of this, he says of The Vindicator closing, tapping the board. I take kids off the streets, put their name in The Vindicator and its nice for them to read about their accomplishments. In a boxing city like Youngstown, he worries about how hes going to get the word out about fights when a lot of people dont have computers. What am I going to do? (Stephanie Strasburg/Post-Gazette)A man is reflected in the glass doors at the Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Basilica during the 21st annual Italian Festival on Saturday, July 27, 2019, in Youngstown, Ohio. Scott Williams, 24, of Atlanta, Ga., a former Vindicator employee and one-time member of parish council and altar server at the church, says now that hes relocated to Atlanta for work, he still checks The Vindicator online to keep up with news in his hometown. That saying democracy dies in darkness, thats kind of what I think, he says of the papers closing. No ones going to hold feet to the fire, especially when you have a corrupt city like Youngstown. (Stephanie Strasburg/Post-Gazette)Billy Danielson, 37, watches musicians jam at his bar, Cedars West Side, on Saturday, July 27, 2019, in his neighborhood in the West Side of Youngstown, Ohio. “It will be a ticket to ride, trust me, especially in this town,” said Mr. Danielson of the corruption he fears will be able to slide by with The Vindicator’s watchdog journalism coming to an end. “The newspaper informs people on what’s going on, and if you don’t have those outlets, it’s up to the individual to seek that information out and people just won’t. They won’t, he”said. “It’s something you can’t get back.” (Stephanie Strasburg/Post-Gazette)Jeff Hayslett, 30, takes a break from sparring at Burnside Boxing on Aug. 7, 2019, in his town of Struthers, Ohio. Keith Burnside, the gym owner, is worried about who will pick up local sports coverage now that The Vindicator is closing. The paper has provided positive recognition for the vulnerable youth he brings in and trains and helps publicize matches. What do I do now? he said. (Stephanie Strasburg/Post-Gazette)From left, Cailin McLaren, 28, and Brandie Barnett, 28, both of Newton Falls, have a philosophical discussion with their friends on Saturday, July 27, 2019, at Mill Creek Park in Youngstown’s South Side. “It’s going to affect the older generation,” said McLaren of the Vindicator’s closing. “My grandpa doesn’t know how to get on the internet. I feel like it’s losing traditions.” (Stephanie Strasburg/Post-Gazette)Peters Township’s Adrian Williams is upended while rushing against Upper St. Clair on Friday, Aug. 30, 2019, at Peters Township High School. (Steph Chambers/Post-Gazette)Former Pittsburgh Steelers player Arthur Moats, center, joins students from the Moon fan section during the Mars at Moon high school football game, Friday, August 30, 2019, at Moon Area High School in Coraopolis. (Michael M. Santiago/Post-Gazette)Jamal Littlejohn, running back from Moon, center, dives into the end zone for a touchdown during the Mars at Moon high school football game, Friday, August 30, 2019, at Moon Area High School in Coraopolis. (Michael M. Santiago/Post-Gazette)Upper St. Clair’s Tim Pollock and Upper St. Clair’s Jaden Keating mentally prepare in the locker room before playing Peters Township on Friday, Aug. 30, 2019, at Peters Township High School. (Steph Chambers/Post-Gazette)Ynez Nevarez and Sten Guntanson, both 14, of Virginia, share a moment after releasing their lanterns during the Pittsburgh Water Lantern Festival at Allegheny Commons Park, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2019, on the North Side. (Alexandra Wimley/Post-Gazette)A girl releases her lantern into Lake Elizabeth during the Pittsburgh Water Lantern Festival at Allegheny Commons Park, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2019, on the North Side. (Alexandra Wimley/Post-Gazette)Mary Demuth, 6, gets help with lipstick from Alaina Shook, 16, while getting ready to march with the Golden Triangle Performance Ensemble in the Forest Hills Centennial Celebration Parade, which processed down the Greensburg Pike, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2019, in Forest Hills. (Alexandra Wimley/Post-Gazette)Virginia tailback PK Kier carries over Pitt’s defensive back Paris Ford in the second quarter Saturday, August 31, 2019, at Heinz Field. (Matt Freed/Post-Gazette)Damania Costa, from Sharpsburg returns a volley during the First-Ever Blind & Visually-Impaired Tennis Clinic hosted by the Highland Park Tennis Club in Highland Park with Envision Blind Sports, The Pittsburgh Tennis League and the United States Tennis Association Saturday, August 31, 2019 in Pittsburgh. The free clinic, taught by local volunteers, utilized special “sound balls” on smaller courts & modified racquets to introduce the basics of tennis. (Pam Panchak/Post-Gazette)Mayor Bill Peduto and Rabbi Jeffrey Myers hug, as other panelists, including Coleman McDonough, superintendent of the Allegheny County Police Department, and Pittsburgh Police Chief Scott Schubert, take their seats before a Congressional round table briefing examining issues related to acts of domestic terrorism, including the October 27 attack on the Tree of Life synagogue, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2019, at the Pittsburgh City-County Building, Downtown. (Alexandra Wimley/Post-Gazette)Attendees, including Marilyn McFarlin, second from right in the front, with her son Vinnie, 9, of Blairsville, pray during a vigil for Nalani Johnson, a toddler who was found dead from a homicide Tuesday after being missing for nearly three days, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019, at the amphitheater in Blairsville Veterans Memorial Park in Blairsville. (Alexandra Wimley/Post-Gazette)Butterflies land on the shirt of Leila Deisher, 9, of Blairsville, after she and grandmother Leisa Mough released them in honor of Nalani Johnson the toddler who was found dead from a homicide Tuesday after being missing for nearly three days, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019, at the amphitheater in Blairsville Veterans Memorial Park in Blairsville. (Alexandra Wimley/Post-Gazette)Pirates first baseman Josh Bell tosses his bat after striking out against the Marlins in the sixth inning Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019, at PNC Park. (Matt Freed/Post-Gazette)
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