Posts tagged Journalists
Journalists turn to picket lines as the news business ails
February 16, 2024 // At the L.A. Times, where Schleuss got his start as a labor activist, owner Soon-Shiong made deep cuts last June and again last month, saying he is losing tens of millions of dollars a year on the paper. He says the union's refusal to give him greater leeway in making job cuts in January forced him to lay off more journalists. He had offered buyouts in exchange for relaxing protections by seniority. The union instead went out on strike.
Op-ed: KAREN ANDERSON: Joe Biden And Gavin Newsom Go To War With Freelancers For Their Big Labor Buddies
January 15, 2024 // or those who file Schedule C on their federal tax returns, deducting expenses is crucial, especially if expensive equipment is required in a particular field such as independent filmmaking. Prior to AB5, film producer Dan Cheatham could write off his office costs, vehicle usage, fuel, software, hardware, equipment, healthcare, and self-advertising. “AB5 is poison for the self-employed in California unless we are willing to just volunteer our services and turn this into art for art’s sake,” he said. Finally, the opportunity to hone one’s craft is inherent in the freedom to freelance. Whether it’s a videographer working with different clients in different settings, a writer growing their skill sets to include photography and web design, or a wedding vendor expanding her offerings, the chance to try on different hats is one of many essential attributes of being self-employed.
KENTUCKY: Journalists at Courier & Press unionizing
January 10, 2024 // Journalists at the Evansville Courier & Press have announced the formation of a union, citing slashed resources and jobs. According to an email from the Evansville News Guild, the Courier & Press newsroom has been reduced to a fraction of its former size, and journalists “work the hours of three people to cover beats that once had dedicated reporters.” The News Guild also says they have been told there are no new hires coming, and there will be no pay raises.
Commentary: The Hollywood Strikes Stopped AI From Taking Your Job. But for How Long?
December 28, 2023 // The “learn to code” crowd has all new ammo. Even Biden’s executive order was clear about the fact that the US government wanted to attract the best and brightest in the field. But that’s job creation, not job displacement. New technologies create jobs all the time, but with AI, some of those jobs pay pennies. What’s more, AI can also ask you to train it to do your job before picking up your tools. Going forward, the likelihood that AI will displace many entry-level jobs while creating a few highly skilled gigs seems high. The biggest questions in AI right now nearly all revolve around what these machines are learning from people, whether it’s human skill or human bias.
Chicago Tribune employees rally for fair contracts, livable wages
December 18, 2023 // Unionized reporters, photographers, editors and other newsroom employees have been without a contract for five years. On Saturday, the employees spoke out against their owner, Alden Capital's detrimental labor practices and profiteering-driven bargaining efforts.
‘Washington Post’ journalists stage daylong strike under threat of job cuts
December 7, 2023 // It is not alone in that regard. Cuts have plagued the industry, encompassing legacy media outlets including NPR, the Los Angeles Times, Gannett's newspapers and New York Public Radio, as well as Vox, Vice Media and BuzzFeed. Spotify announced this week that it would lay off 17% of its staff.
The Messenger Staffers Stir Unionization Talk Amid Whispers the Startup News Site Is ‘Out of Money’
October 26, 2023 // It’s not clear how many people were hired by the outlet, but in industry circles, it’s well known that the company in recent months dangled jobs to multiple journalists, but never offered actual contracts. Those who did get hired are now “quietly … pushing to unionize the newsroom,” according to The Daily Beast. They’re also lobbying for a company town hall to explain the Beckman’s comments, and to explain the whereabouts of Editor-In-Chief Dan Wakeford, who The Daily Beast said, “continues to be MIA.” It had reported in July that the former editor of People Magazine was “essentially ceding day-to-day newsroom duties to deputy editor Michelle Gotthelf.”
Workers announce intention to unionize at The Bulletin, Redmond Spokesman
October 24, 2023 // Wright said, “Central Oregon Media Group has received a request from the PNW Newspaper Guild to voluntarily recognize members of our news staff at two our newspapers, the Bend Bulletin and the Redmond Spokesman. We are reviewing the request. Whatever the outcome, we stand by our employees.” The Central Oregon NewsGuild is represented by the Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild, a sector of the Communications Workers of America and the largest union representing journalists and media workers in North America, according to the guild.
The small pro-labor news site that has the Biden White House’s ear
October 3, 2023 // Ahead of the announcement that Biden would join the striking workers. More Perfect Union’s executive director, Faiz Shakir, helped connect the White House and United Auto Workers leaders, smoothing the way for Biden to address a crowd of striking workers. “We had a number of conversations with the White House,” Shakir, a former campaign manager for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), said of the planning for the Biden trip. “We’re also on the ground covering UAW and building relationships there. So that’s where we gave a little bit of help on the sidelines.” With a tone that is often serious but always conversational, More Perfect Union highlights the struggles of workers from disparate sectors; one post on social media might be about striking railway workers, while the next might be about exploitation women face in the modeling industry. It also dabbles in memes, jokes and commentary familiar to anyone who spends time online.
New York Times to disband sports desk, reassign staffers, incorporate more The Athletic coverage
July 10, 2023 // This is quite a dramatic move from the Times, affecting more than 35 journalists and editors in their sports section (to say nothing of the freelancers who have contributed there). And it ends a long and storied history of the paper’s own sports department, which includes 1896 Summer Olympics coverage, the since-1927 Sports of the Times column, four Pulitzer Prizes (won by columnists Red Smith, Arthur Daley and Dave Anderson and feature writer John Branch), and much more. It also comes after nearly 20 layoffs at The Athletic last month and discussion of a shift there to more national and less team beat coverage. And it comes with potential union tensions, as The Athletic is not unionized, while the Times itself is. The letter Sunday signed by nearly 30 Times sports staffers, as reported by Ben Strauss of The Washington Post, discussed the union issue and more