NEW: POLITICO’s top editors testified that its AI experiments don’t need to follow the newsroom’s own editorial standards. If media execs won’t protect journalism standards, NewsGuild members @pen-guild.bsky.social will! www.niemanlab.org/2025/08/poli...

Thrilled to be a part of this crucial work! 🫡

"There are only seven full-time book critics left in the United States...The rest of us are freelancers—and according to the Freelance Solidarity Project, nearly one-third of freelance book critics make less than the federal minimum wage for their reviews." worldliteraturetoday.org/2025/septemb...

Israel is carrying out the largest massacre of journalists & media workers in modern history,& the most dangerous attack on the ideal of a free press in the modern era. Donate to the IFJ Safety Fund to support our colleagues & sibling union, the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate. bit.ly/supportPJS

Mario Guevara is now the 5th longest-jailed journalist in U.S. history. Sign & share this petition from his daughter, Katherine, to bring him home. "If a government can punish a reporter for doing his job, what message does this send? What protections are left for the rest of us?" chng.it/8HfJqdW75h

NEW: Israel targeted and killed five @aljazeera.com journalists in Gaza. They risked everything to document atrocities so we could know the truth. Killing them is an attack on journalism itself. With @nwu.org, we demand accountability: newsguild.org/the-newsguil...

Missed our Journalism Futures panel? You can catch the recording below. ⬇️ These leaders are forging a more just media industry, and not afraid to answer the big questions about reporting on Palestine, immigration, and AI in an increasingly suppressed media climate.

We're excited to add @theflytrapmedia.com to the list of publications we have a Unilateral Announcement with as they help raise standards across the industry. Who's next? 👀

Proud of my union for speaking out against Israel's systematic starvation of people in Gaza, including journalists -- and for pushing our colleagues at mainstream outlets to cover it better. Freelancers, please consider joining @fspnwu.bsky.social nwu.org/starvation-o...

Over 100 ppl (& counting) are registered for this @fspnwu.bsky.social convo abt funding news under fascism, happening TMRW @ 12 pm EST! Signing up is free and takes 2 min. You won't wanna miss out: bit.ly/FundingUnder...

Philanthropy & nonprofit status have been presented as one solution to the breakdown of the media industry, especially to serve the needs of communities of color & immigrant communities who have historically been failed by mainstream outlets. Can it work? Let's talk! bit.ly/FundingUnderFascism

Oh and relatedly, it's pretty clear to myself and most book critics I know that we will never get a staff job. Perhaps that's part of why we're so eager to organize together and try to improve rates for all freelance critics :). @fspnwu.bsky.social

Got the nonprofit industrial complex on your mind? Us too. Join @fspnwu.bsky.social, moderator @roshanabraham.bsky.social, and these stellar speakers for a chat about ~funding under fascism~ next week! Register & send us your burning q's here - it's totally free & takes 2 min: tinyurl.com/mrxubuyj

The journalism industry is facing economic breakdown. What promises and pitfalls does the nonprofit news model offer? Hear from Mazin Sidahmed of @documentedny.bsky.social, Alicia Bell of @borealisphil.bsky.social, & Lara Witt of @prismreports.org on August 5. Register: bit.ly/FundingUnderFascism

As the Trump administration slashes federal funding & threatens basic press freedoms, how should nonprofit newsrooms—especially those serving marginalized communities—navigate an already shaky media ecosystem? Find out on August 5: bit.ly/FundingUnderFascism

Want to join a union of digital media workers raising labor standards across our industry? Come to tomorrow's info session to learn more, 7:30-8pm ET on Zoom. RSVP by noon tomorrow! bit.ly/FSP-RSVP-info

Invest in worker-owned media! We're proud to share that FSP-NWU alongside @defector.com & the Media Economies Design Lab at @colorado.edu was awarded $1.5 million from Press Forward, an initiative to invest in local news infrastructure, to support media co-ops through the incubator start.coop.

Interested in learning about organizing for a more sustainable and equitable media industry? Join us for our next quarterly info session on July 29, 7:30pm ET on Zoom. Register at bit.ly/FSP-RSVP-info

🙌🏼

Sign the petition! bit.ly/PENGuild

just finished my monthly meeting with my freelance media workers union @fspnwu.bsky.social and feel rejuvenated! this union is such a place of companionship, solidarity, and support for such an isolating industry. hmu if you have questions or want to join us!

YES, comrades! 🔥

Fellow freelancers: the union for freelance media workers, @fspnwu.bsky.social / @thenwu.bsky.social has already issued a call to ALL FREELANCERS to stand in solidarity w Vox workers if they strike and NOT CROSS THE PICKET LINE & NOT SCAB.

FSP-NWU stands in solidarity with the @voxmediaunion.bsky.social as they prepare to strike. We pledge to support our colleagues by committing not to cross the digital picket line, as readers OR as workers. We don’t scab when staff unions strike!

Today, we’re announcing our new agreement with @thenwu.bsky.social. Freelance contributors are essential to the quality and success of In These Times and independent media. Find the full agreement here: inthesetimes.com/article/itt-...

Terminated CBR editor here. Valnet's rates as of this writing are as follows: $15 for 800-1300 words $28 for 1400-1999 words $32 for 2000 words

If you’re an entertainment reporter or critic — especially at a Valnet publication — add your rates to the FSP rate sharing survey to improve transparency across our industry and strengthen any future direct action campaigns our members might take on. freelancesolidarity.org/rate-sharing

If the publication models of the digital age won’t allow us to work in dignity, then workers will continue to build our own alternative structures, like our 1st VP @abigailhiggins.bsky.social did with @51st.news poynter.org/business-work/2025/worker-owned-news-publications-media-coops

If you're not in it, it's hard to describe just how bad the working conditions in entertainment journalism are—both for staff writers and editors who still have jobs and for the increasingly large pool of freelancers fighting for increasingly tiny budgets. But @fspnwu.bsky.social is trying.

PAY FOR WRITING YOU LOVE & VALUE. And, then, also: There is a union for precarious freelance media workers who want organize creative worker power for effective collective action! Hard but necessary work led by members of @fspnwu.bsky.social (the digital media division of @thenwu.bsky.social)

To our knowledge, Polygon’s editorial staff have consistently followed the key tenets of our Principles for Working with Freelancers: transparent & fair rates, clear contracts, & paying freelancers in a timely manner. We deserve more pubs like this, not fewer. freelancesolidarity.org/principles

Our GoFundMe to assist our former colleagues at @polygon.com is now live! Please support them if you can, and share widely even if you can't! Thank you all for the kindness and care you've shared with Polygon and the union over the last 2 days — it means the world to us all. gofund.me/a21cbbdc

Press freedom is under attack, but for some communities the limits of that freedom have always been deeply felt. Watch the recording of our panel on incarcerated journalists’ fight for press freedom that marked last year’s World Press Freedom Day. www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9jf...

Hard not to feel the fucked-ness of this today, BUT: it’s also May Day, and while it’s not an easy or a guaranteed solution, what we do at least have as precarious & immoderate culture workers in the US is the chance to build collective power through @fspnwu.bsky.social and @thenwu.bsky.social !!

also in celebration of May Day, enter your freelance pay rates today!!! 1 in 3 working journalists are freelancers. It's time to reckon with the freelance pay gap. Share your rates with @fsp_nwu to help build campaigns for fair pay. bit.ly/share-rates #FreelanceSolidarityChallenge

Hey, did you hear we're having an info session tomorrow at 7:30pm ET? RSVP to learn more about organizing alongside your fellow freelance media workers for a more sustainable and equitable media industry: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Looking for a simple act of solidarity to celebrate May Day? Enter your freelance rates in our rates database at bit.ly/share-rates. Or join us April 30, and we’ll do it together. #FreelanceSolidarityChallenge RSVP: forms.gle/a6cst6stvrRZ...

1 in 3 working journalists is a freelancer. It's time to reckon with the freelance pay gap. Share your rates with @fspnwu.bsky.social to help build campaigns for fair pay. bit.ly/share-rates #FreelanceSolidarityChallenge

I'm taking some time out tonight to share my rates—and estimates of how long it took me to complete each project—in the FSP rate sharing tool as part of the Freelance Solidarity Challenge. Join me!!

As a union of media workers, we won’t stand by as our industry is torn down by hedge funds and billionaires. We're building a new future, one where we all thrive. What role will you play? Join us at our info session on Tuesday, April 29 at 7:30pm ET: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Are you a freelance writer? Participate in FSP's Freelance Solidarity Challenge! Submit your rates and help us make pay for freelance writers what it should be—transparent.

So far, the lowest hourly rate for freelancers in our #FreelanceSolidarityChallenge was an abysmal $3.33 an hour! Share your lowest rate here: bit.ly/share-rates

Join FSP’s Rate Sharing Working Group on April 30 at 12pm ET for a drop-in rate sharing event and connect with your freelance colleagues. RSVP: forms.gle/a6cst6stvrRZ...

Tax season may be behind you, but don’t let the fruits of 2024’s labor go to waste! Contribute your rates to FSP’s Rate Sharing Survey—it only takes a few moments: bit.ly/share-rates

The best publications out there right now (like @defector.bsky.social) no longer force freelancers into exploitive work for hire contracts (yay!) but many still do! This is something we're working on at @fspnwu.bsky.social to try and push back on industry wide.

This is a great project and a great way to navigate how much you should ask different outlets for your work!

Listen. Media is in the toilet. As freelance media workers, sharing our rates is a simple act of solidarity — as well as a step toward a better media industry. Enter your rates at bit.ly/share-rates #FreelanceSolidarityChallenge

$100 for 2k words is a slap in the face to begin with. And then to not even pay? THIS is why we organize!

Freelance friends: It would mean a lot to me, personally, if you'd share your rates in the @fspnwu.bsky.social rates database between now and May 1. It's part of a campaign I've been working on all year If you wanna come hang and do data together, join me April 30 docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...