petition | The NewsGuild

Journalists in Ohio withhold bylines over journalistic integrity concerns with USA TODAY Co. AI tool

Media contact: Heloise Hakimi, The NewsGuild Communications, hhakimi@cwa-union.org, (202) 679-9394

OHIO — Unionized journalists at the Akron Beacon Journal and Kent Ravenna Record-Courier in Ohio are demanding that their employer remove their names from stories featuring a new AI chatbot being implemented on their publications’ websites. They will be withholding their bylines from stories featuring the chatbot for 14 days, beginning Oct. 28 and spanning across the November 2026 General Election.

The staff cites serious concerns over editorial integrity with the DeeperDive tool used by USA TODAY Co., which owns both newspapers. The chatbot generates AI summaries of the papers’ coverage and was recently added to their publications’ websites. The tool violates the company’s current standards of requiring a “human in the loop” prior to publishing computer generated content online or in print. The workers are demanding the company pause the use of DeeperDive and follow its own AI policies.

“We have the right to withhold our bylines for reasons of journalistic integrity, and DeeperDive’s summaries don’t meet our standards as reporters or the standards USA TODAY Co. claims to follow,” says Akron NewsGuild Unit Chair Tawney Beans. “We don’t want our names on content that doesn’t meet common standards of editorial integrity. Community journalism requires real community members, not AI slop.”

RELEASE: STANDING UP TO PROTECT JOURNALISM FROM AI SLOP

For Immediate Release: Dec.1, 2025
Media Contact: Jen Sheehan, jen@nyguild.org; 610-573-0740

On the heels of a groundbreaking arbitration win at POLITICO, NewsGuild-CWA members launch a national campaign and a week of action on AI.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Unionized journalists across the country have become increasingly concerned about artificial intelligence, especially how the evolving technology is eroding the public’s trust in the news.

City Bureau workers announce union drive with unanimous support

Contact: Email cbworkersguild@gmail.com or call 773-357-7096

CHICAGO — Workers at the nonprofit journalism lab City Bureau are forming a union and seeking to become a part of the Chicago News Guild, TNG-CWA Local 34071, joining the nationwide labor movement for a stronger media system.

Journalists at The Journal Times in Racine, WI, announce union

RACINE, Wis. — Journalists at The Journal Times newspaper in Racine, Wisconsin, today announced plans to unionize together as the Racine NewsGuild, seeking a partnership with the newspaper’s ownership to protect quality local journalism and to demonstrate a joint commitment to improving services in the Racine area.

Journalists at Anchorage Daily News — Alaska’s largest newsroom — file petition to form a union

The journalists and news staff at Anchorage Daily News took a major step Tuesday toward forming a union. Organizers filed a petition for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board and have requested voluntary recognition from leadership at Anchorage Daily News.

Today, we share the exciting news that our newsroom staff has asked the leadership of the Anchorage Daily News to voluntarily recognize us as the Anchorage News Guild.
— AnchorageNewsGuild (@ancnewsguild) September 10, 2024

Roughly 80% of the newsroom staff at ADN are publicly in support of joining the Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild, a local union of The NewsGuild-CWA. By forming the Anchorage News Guild, the workers aim to advocate for fair wages, increased transparency and a sustainable workplace environment.