Photojournalist banned from covering Black Lives Matter Protests Leaves the Pittsburgh-Post-Gazette

Pulitzer-Prize winning photographer Michael Santiago. (Current photo by Jake Mysliwczyk)

By Charlie Deitch
Pittsburgh Current Editor
charlie@pittsburghcurrent.com

Editor’s Note: This breaking story will be updated

The Black photojournalist who was sidelined by Pittsburgh Post-Gazette management from photographing Black Lives Matter Protests has quit the paper.

Michael Santiago was taken off the beat June 5, the second journalist in two days to be banned from protest coverage by Executive Editor Keith Burris. Santiago announced on Twitter that he took the company’s recent buyout offer.

Update on my situation. Thank you #Pittsburgh ✊🏾✊🏾 pic.twitter.com/oRNxAUD9Uu

— Michael M. Santiago (@msantiagophotos) June 14, 2020

Santiago’s colleagues and other supporters took to Twitter to show support.

Michael, it goes without saying that the PG will be a less connected, less insightful, less creative, and simply worse place without you. I truly hope that our professorial paths cross again. ✊

— 𝚉𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚃𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚎𝚛 🚩 (@ZackTanner) June 14, 2020

Better to take control of your own destiny than to leave it in the hands of others. I am confident you will find a better situation. Good luck to you!

— Matt Smith (@msmith_photo) June 14, 2020

Mike Fuoco, a Post-Gazette reporter and president of the PGH NewsGuild tweeted a reference to recent calls for members of Post-Gazette management to step down.

.@msantiagophotos is not the one who should be leaving the @PittsburghPG but sadly he is. https://t.co/Pa31HSY0p8

— Michael A. Fuoco (@michaelafuoco) June 14, 2020

Unsurprisingly, he also received support from Alexis Johnson, the first Black journalist the Post-Gazette sidelined.