The muffling of critical voices compromises consumer choice. A dollar a word would help critics make a living wage. nwu.org/join Illustration by @colleentie.bsky.social

2025 has been a year of devastating disinvestment across arts and culture criticism. Join us in calling for $1/word as the minimum rate for book critics. nwu.org/join Illustration by @colleentie.bsky.social

Today, we join unionized nonprofit newsrooms across the country as they stand shoulder-to-shoulder to demand that news industry leaders agree to common-sense guardrails around the implementation of artificial intelligence to protect the integrity, quality, and accuracy of our journalism.

TOMORROW: Join the Rate Sharing Crew for a drop-in on Dec 4 at 12pm ET to close out the year! We want to hear about your wins and build momentum for the new year. RSVP: forms.gle/meFVcJTiaVWN...

freelance journo friends, I'll be at this drop-in! Come hang out.

Join our end-of-year rate sharing drop-in on Thursday, December 4, at 12 pm ET! We want to hear about your wins this year and talk about how we'll hit the ground running next year, organizing so freelancers can have greater assurance and stability. RSVP: forms.gle/L1R3NyaiMEsm...

Join our Rate Sharing Working Group on Dec 4 at 12pm ET for a drop-in rate sharing event and connect with your freelance colleagues. RSVP: forms.gle/NaUNpARUgkZW...

The feeling is so mutual!

Media closures are happening much too often these days, but there is POWER in a UNION! ✊🏼

"The death of institutions hasn’t killed solidarity among journalists — I’m a member, for example, of the Freelance Solidarity Project at the National Writers Union, which provides resources for independent writers and has contracts for minimum standards with several publications." 🫡

We had the privilege of working with @goodbyealma.bsky.social on our know your rights panel for queer & trans media workers, so trust us when we say it's worth subscribing to Hell Gate to read this full interview. Then go sign the petition to support the Fired Four: actionnetwork.org/petitions/te...

Sign the petition to reinstate the Fired Four!

More important to me than my identity, I am also the Vice President of the NewsGuild of New York, and targeting me with a blatantly retaliatory termination like this feels like an egregious shot against our union and against media workers as a whole.

We stand in solidarity with our @condeunion.bsky.social siblings at @teenvogue.com who were unceremoniously laid off last week. Layoffs are not a solution to unbalanced budgets, especially when those laid off come from marginalized backgrounds typically not represented at major media orgs.

Speaking of freelancers, looking out for fellow freelance creatives is really important to me. We worked with @nwu.org and @fspnwu.bsky.social to develop contributor guidelines to protect freelancers, be transparent about our relationships, and set fair pay standards.

Tomorrow, comrades! Who’s joining us?

But we CAN organize! Want to hear how? Join us at our next general info session on October 28, 7:30pm ET. RSVP at bit.ly/FSP-RSVP-info

"Freelancers can't collectively bargain."

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