PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A Pittsburgh Post-Gazette photojournalist who says he was banned from protest coverage announced he is leaving the newspaper.
Michael Santiago says that the newspaper no longer allowed him to cover protests after he openly supported his colleague Alexis Johnson.
Johnson says she was pulled from protest coverage because of a tweet.
Santiago tweeted that he opted to take a buyout that the Post-Gazette offered to staffers last month.
Update on my situation. Thank you #Pittsburgh ✊🏾✊🏾 pic.twitter.com/oRNxAUD9Uu
— Michael M. Santiago (@msantiagophotos) June 14, 2020
News Guild president Michael Fuoco said that he is sad to see Santiago leave, and criticized the decision by Post-Gazette management to pull Santiago, Johnson, and others from protest coverage.
“Pittsburgh is losing a tremendous talent in Mr. Santiago, a man who says he ‘thought’ he found a home in the Steel City,'” said Brian Cook, President of the Pittsburgh Black Media Federation.
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