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Layoffs, buyouts across DFM newspaper chain follow hedge fund’s profit-extraction strategy

UPDATE: Total buyouts in San Jose this week now stand at 15, at least 9 of whom are NewsGuild-represented, bringing total job losses for the Bay Area News Group this week to at least 27.

By Julie Reynolds

Feb. 2, 2018 – Recent company-wide layoffs at Digital First Media newspapers are part of a calculated strategy to extract maximum profits in the next two to three years before shutting down or selling the chain, a prominent news business analyst said Wednesday. Continue reading “Layoffs, buyouts across DFM newspaper chain follow hedge fund’s profit-extraction strategy”

50 Years: Honoring Echol Cole and Robert Walker

Moment of Silence
1 p.m. EST
Remembering Echol Cole and Robert Walker

On Feb. 1, 1968, Memphis sanitation workers Echol Cole and Robert Walker were huddled in the back of their truck seeking shelter from a storm when the truck’s compactor malfunctioned, trapping Cole and Walker and crushing them to death. Continue reading “50 Years: Honoring Echol Cole and Robert Walker”

Pittsburgh Guild Launches Byline Strike to Protest Contentious Contract Talks

Jan. 25, 2018 – One hundred fifty newsroom employees at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette have instituted a byline strike to protest 12 years of pay cuts and additional concessions demanded by family-owned Block Communications, Inc., in contract talks, local Pittsburgh Newspaper Guild President Michael A. Fuoco has announced. Continue reading “Pittsburgh Guild Launches Byline Strike to Protest Contentious Contract Talks”

Jacobin Members Ratify First Contract

Jacobin workers have a lot to celebrate.

Jan. 24, 2018 – NewsGuild-CWA members at Jacobin, a Brooklyn-based print and online magazine that offers socialist perspectives on politics and culture, overwhelmingly ratified a first contract between the company and The NewsGuild of New York, the local that represents them. The contract will remain in effect until Dec. 15, 2021. Continue reading “Jacobin Members Ratify First Contract”

After 6 Acquittals, Charges Dropped for 129; Charges Linger for Others in Inauguration Day Protests

Jan. 22, 2018 – Press freedom advocates won an important victory when photojournalist Alexei Wood was found not guilty of charges stemming from Inauguration Day protests. Five other defendants were also exonerated, and charges were subsequently dropped against 129 others who were awaiting prosecution. Continue reading “After 6 Acquittals, Charges Dropped for 129; Charges Linger for Others in Inauguration Day Protests”

Guild Tells Court: No Retaliation

Jan. 20, 2018 – The Guild joined the Reporters Committee and 22 media organizations in submitting a brief to the Ninth Circuit Court in support of former journalist Brian Addison, who alleges that Baker City, Ore., and its police chief retaliated against him after he wrote a column critical of the police department. Continue reading “Guild Tells Court: No Retaliation”