Category: Featured

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.

Continue reading “Pottstown Mercury: an Army of One”

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”

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”

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”

There’s no shortage of news in Springfield, Ill., but they are running low on reporters.

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois, Sept. 4, 2020 – The daily newspaper in this capital city of 115,000 is one of the go-to places for political coverage in a state where consecutive governors went to federal prison, the state’s finances are precarious and the longtime speaker of the Illinois House may be in the crosshairs of a federal investigation. Continue reading “There’s no shortage of news in Springfield, Ill., but they are running low on reporters.”