Tim McNulty, ex-reporter, Peduto and Penguins spokesman, dies at 54 after cancer battle

Tim McNulty, a former Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter who went on to serve as a spokesman for Mayor Bill Peduto and then the Pittsburgh Penguins, died Friday at his North Side home after a long battle with cancer. He was 54.

City Councilwoman Theresa Kail-Smith plans to introduce legislation Tuesday to name the press room in Pittsburgh’s City-County Building in McNulty’s honor. Efforts are also underway to dedicate a bench in Allegheny Commons Park to him.

“He was always so kind,” Kail-Smith said Monday. “I think it’s a fitting tribute to him because it was actually suggested by his colleagues, people who have worked with him in the industry.”

In a social media post Saturday, Peduto said McNulty was more than his communications chief — “he was my friend.”

Peduto described McNulty was a “unique, cool guy” who left behind “countless memories and a magical brilliance.”

Courtesy of McNulty Family

Tim McNulty in 2017 in the City-County Building.

Kevin Acklin, president of business operations for the Penguins, was Peduto’s first chief of staff and worked with McNulty in both roles.

“Tim was a tremendous husband, father, brother and son, and he was always there for his friends,” Acklin said.

“He had the highest journalistic ethics and never lost sight of what was important to our team or to the public, whom he served,” Acklin said. “All of us who loved Tim dearly are truly heartbroken by his untimely passing, and we are in awe of his courage and the heroic strength shown by his close family during his eight-year battle with cancer.”

McNulty “kept his sharp wit and humor to the very end,” Acklin said.

Pittsburgh’s current mayor also weighed in with kind words about McNulty.

“We offer our sincerest condolences to Tim’s friends and family as they navigate this incredible loss, and hope his memory continues to be a blessing today and every day,” Mayor Ed Gainey said on social media.

We lost a giant. Tim McNulty was a brilliant journalist, an incredible Communications Director, a dear friend and colleague and the best dad and husband. We are all better because of his skill with the written word, love of music and sports, and his endless heart. Love you Tim pic.twitter.com/P3MbbWTElk

— Daniel Gilman (@danielgilman) July 6, 2024

McNulty was born in Gettysburg. His family lived in St. Louis before moving to Pittsburgh in 1985, when his father became rector of Calvary Episcopal Church. He graduated from Shady Side Academy and then Trinity College, where he earned degrees in philosophy and history.

After receiving a master’s degree from the New York University School of Journalism in 1994, McNulty worked in the Washington bureau of The New York Times as a research assistant to columnist Maureen Dowd.

He began working at the Post-Gazette in 1996 and reported for the newspaper for 18 years, starting as a police reporter and later covering politics.

In 2014, he left his position as the Post-Gazette city hall reporter to join the Peduto administration as director of communications.

McNulty is survived by his wife Jennifer and daughter Lillian, as well as his mother, sister, brother-in-law and nieces.

Jennifer McNulty launched a Go Fund Me to support efforts to create a memorial for her husband at Allegheny Commons Park, where he taught his daughter to ride a bike and where he’d walk to Allegheny General Hospital for medical treatments.

The fundraiser by Monday afternoon had raised more than $10,000 for a tree-planting ceremony and memorial bench dedication in the park, about a block from their home.

Memorial donations are also being directed to the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation and Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank.