Sept. 25, 2020 – Press freedom advocates won two victories this week in battles they shouldn’t have had to fight. Continue reading “Press freedom advocates win two battles – battles they shouldn’t have had to fight”
Town Hall Sept. 30 – Saving The News: Paths Forward
Sept. 24, 2020 – The business model that sustained American journalism for roughly 240 years is collapsing and The NewsGuild must be part of the solution. So join us for a panel discussion with some of the leading thinkers on the state of the news industry in America and how to build a sustainable future for our work.
Guild members: Register here by 5 p.m. to join NewsGuild-CWA President Jon Schleuss at 7 p.m. ET Weds., Sept. 30, for “Save the News: Paths Forward.” Guild members who register through Zoom will be able to ask questions via chat. The panel also will be streamed on Facebook. Continue reading “Town Hall Sept. 30 – Saving The News: Paths Forward”
NewsGuild condemns Tribune hoax
Sept. 24, 2020 – NewsGuild-CWA members at Tribune publications across the country were “aghast at the blatant insensitivity” of a management decision to email employees promising bonuses of $5,000 to $10,000.
Why? Because the employees weren’t about to get bonuses; the email was a stunt to test their susceptibility to phishing scams. Instead of money, the employees were notified they would have to take training on avoiding suspicious links. Continue reading “NewsGuild condemns Tribune hoax”
Pottstown Mercury: an Army of One
By Dean Olsen
The article first appeared on Sept. 22 on SaveTheNews.org.
Sept. 23, 2020 – When Evan Brandt began working at The Mercury as a municipal reporter in 1997, his beat focused on one community — Pottstown, Pennsylvania, and the daily paper had 14 reporters, including a few sportswriters.
Twenty-three years later, Brandt, The Mercury’s only municipal reporter, covers nine school districts and 30 communities in and near Pottstown, a town of 23,000 people 40 miles northwest of Philadelphia.
NewsGuild joins call: Drop charges against KPCC reporter
Updated Sept. 18, 2020 to include the sheriff’s response.
Sept. 17, 2020 – The NewsGuild-CWA joined more than 60 press freedom and journalism organizations Wednesday calling on Los Angeles law enforcement officers to drop charges against reporter Josie Huang, who was violently arrested and charged with obstruction while reporting on Sept. 12. Continue reading “NewsGuild joins call: Drop charges against KPCC reporter”
NewsGuild leadership unanimously approves Pittsburgh strike; New editor starts today, faces immediate challenge
For immediate release: Sept. 14, 2020
Contact: Sally Davidow
sdavidow@cwa-union.org
Citing an unrelenting course of bad faith and surface bargaining, untenable and abusive working conditions unlawfully imposed upon NewsGuild members at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and a despicable pattern of hostile treatment of workers by the company’s owners, The NewsGuild-CWA Executive Council unanimously endorsed Guild members’ request to strike. Continue reading “NewsGuild leadership unanimously approves Pittsburgh strike; New editor starts today, faces immediate challenge”
Digital staff of People Magazine wins union vote, 45-3
Sept. 14, 2020 – Digital employees of People Magazine voted 45-3 in favor of unionizing Friday in a digital vote conducted by the American Arbitration Association (AAA). The overwhelming victory secured the staffers’ representation by The NewsGuild of New York local of The NewsGuild-CWA. Continue reading “Digital staff of People Magazine wins union vote, 45-3”
Alden Global Capital, known for plundering newspapers, plans to expand ownership of Tribune Publishing
For Immediate Release
Contact: Sally Davidow, sdavidow@cwa-union.org
Move is latest Alden ploy in a larger effort to gut newsrooms across the country, detailed in new, comprehensive report
NewsGuild-CWA Outlines Path for Industry’s Survival
Sept. 11, 2020 – Alden Global Capital, the hedge fund known for pillaging newspapers, plans to expand its ownership stake in Tribune Publishing as soon as Jan. 1 and is shifting its business strategy to focus on digital subscriptions, according to internal company documents obtained by DFMworkers.org. Alden currently owns a 32 percent stake in the company and its hand-picked directors hold three of Tribune’s seven board seats. One is held by Alden’s patriarch and founder, Randall Smith. Continue reading “Alden Global Capital, known for plundering newspapers, plans to expand ownership of Tribune Publishing”
Company documents show Alden is overhauling its newspaper strategy after pandemic brings surprise windfall
With plans to own more shares of Tribune by January, hedge fund says the relationship between two chains is “deepening”
By Julie Reynolds
Editor’s note: This article first appeared on DFMworkers.org on Sept. 11, 2020.
Sept. 11, 2020 – In an abrupt strategy change, hedge fund Alden Global Capital appears committed to staying in the news business, after the pandemic created an unexpected new profit stream, internal company reports show.
The reports, which describe the financial picture of the Alden-owned newspaper chain MNG Enterprises, were obtained by DFMworkers.org after they were distributed at an internal staff meeting last month. Continue reading “Company documents show Alden is overhauling its newspaper strategy after pandemic brings surprise windfall”
In historic move, Packet/Gazette Guild wins voluntary union recognition from McClatchy
Sept. 11, 2020 – Journalists at The Hilton Head Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette newspapers made history Thursday evening, when President and Editor Brian Tolley announced the company would voluntarily recognize their union — The Packet/Gazette Guild. This is the first voluntary recognition by a McClatchy publication in recent years. Continue reading “In historic move, Packet/Gazette Guild wins voluntary union recognition from McClatchy”