By Randy Furst (Illustration by Steve Sack)
May 4, 2020 – On April 3 and 10, 28 union reporters and four management editors were permanently laid off at the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Rachel Dissell, whose break-through investigative journalism had a big effect on Ohio and Cleveland, was one of the reporters laid off. Continue reading “Massive cuts impact journalism in the communities they serve”
May 1, 2020 – The Washington-Baltimore News Guild and the NewsGuild-CWA are launching a campaign to support efforts to return The Baltimore Sun to local ownership under a non-profit model, reinvesting profit back into the paper that has been Maryland’s news source for nearly two centuries.
Continue reading “Guild to seek sale of Baltimore Sun to local nonprofits”
April 30, 2020 – The staff of VTDigger, Vermont’s largest newsroom, won union recognition on April 28, three weeks after nearly 90 percent of employees expressed support for forming the VTDigger Guild. Leadership of the nonprofit news outlet granted voluntary recognition. Continue reading “Staff of VTDigger, Vermont’s largest newsroom, win voluntary recognition”
April 29, 2020 – The journalists of the Idaho Statesman spoke with a unanimous voice Wednesday, voting 18-0 to form a union. Continue reading “Idaho News Guild wins unanimous union vote”
April 28, 2020 — Journalists of The Roanoke Times and Laker Weekly won a stunning victory Tuesday, voting 47-3 to establish the Timesland News Guild. The group will become part of the Washington-Baltimore Local 32035 of The NewsGuild-CWA. Continue reading “Journalists of Roanoke Times win resounding union victory”
April 24, 2020 – Members of the Blue Ridge NewsGuild, which represents journalists at the Daily Progress in Charlottesville, Va., voted 14-0 to ratify a first contract with Lee Enterprises, the union announced on Friday. The collective bargaining agreement is the first in the paper’s 127-year history. “A new era at the paper begins now,” the union declared. Continue reading “Blue Ridge NewsGuild members ratify first contract”
April 22, 2020 – Staffers at WIRED, a tech magazine and website, announced Wednesday they are forming a union. They will join employees of The New Yorker, Ars Technica and Pitchfork in the ranks of unionized Condé Nast publications and will become part of the NewsGuild of New York local. Continue reading “WIRED workers announce union campaign; seek to join organized ranks of Condé Nast publications”
April 20, 2020 – Pageant Media’s U.S. employees announced Monday that they are unionizing. The company has a niche audience and covers registered, private, credit and real estate investment sectors. Continue reading “Pageant Media’s U.S. workers announce union drive”
April 16, 2020 – Today Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio unveiled a proposal to support local media, calling for increased advertising spending by the federal government related to public health, tax credits to encourage newsroom hiring, an amendment to the tax code to allow news publications to become tax-exempt, and deferred-interest loans to newspapers, radio and TV stations.
“It’s a promising start and we look forward to working with members of Congress to keep journalists and media workers on the job right now while also not lining the pockets of hedge funds,” said NewsGuild-CWA President Jon Schleuss. “Newsrooms across the country are cutting pay and laying off workers in the middle of a pandemic when Americans need news coverage most.”
The proposal had 12 Democratic signers, including Representatives Jamie Raskin of Maryland, Vicente Gonzalez of Texas, Jared Huffman of California, Elaine Luria of Virginia and D.C.’s Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton.
It follows news early Thursday that Republican Florida Congressman Vern Buchanan is urging congressional leaders to include the news industry in the next COVID-19 stimulus package.
And last week 19 senators called on Senate leaders to include funding for local journalism in any future stimulus package. “Local news is in a state of crisis that has only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic,” they wrote. “Reliable local news and information has been critically important during the COVID-19 pandemic, yet it has become more scarce. Aid provisions “should be tailored to benefit aid recipients who make a long-term commitment to high quality local news,” the senators wrote.
Two weeks ago The NewsGuild announced a proposal for a news industry stimulus that would accomplish two things: save current jobs and grow community-focused journalism.
Since the NewsGuild unveiled its proposal, dozens of companies have announced layoffs and furloughs. The New York Times reported that 28,000 workers have been laid off, furloughed or had their pay reduced since the arrival of the coronavirus.
“At this moment, we must save the news jobs that communities depend on for coronavirus coverage,” Schleuss said. “As the nation shelters indoors Americans need to know which hospitals are at capacity, what local health officials are saying and how many of their neighbors have died from the pandemic.”
The Guild is working with Rep. Ryan’s office and other legislators to make sure any funding would go to benefit workers—not hedge funds and private equity groups that have pillaged the industry and endangered our communities prior to this pandemic.
Under the NewsGuild proposal, public support for news-gathering operations would be required to remain independent from partisan influence and would be prohibited from using public money for executive bonuses, dividends or golden parachutes.
Sign the Guild’s petition to include live-saving news in the next COVID-19 stimulus package.
The NewsGuild represents more than 24,000 journalists and other communications professionals at publications and digital sites across the U.S. and Canada. The NewsGuild is a sector of the Communications Workers of America.
Continue reading “More members of Congress support a news stimulus”
April 8, 2020 – The NewsGuild-CWA is pleased that 19 senators are asking Senate leaders to include funding to support local journalism and media in any future stimulus package.
“This is an important step in protecting life-saving news operations from devastation and we will work to win broad, bipartisan support for such a package,” said Jon Schleuss, president of The NewsGuild. Continue reading “NewsGuild praises senators’ call for funding for local journalism”
