The labor unrest in journalism continues this week as, starting at midnight tonight, at least eleven media publications owned by hedge fund Alden Global Capital will simultaneously be on strike. This will be true through all of tomorrow at minimum.
(Four other publications covered by The Onion Union were also planning on going on strike, but they've reached a tentative agreement which has averted this. I've updated the post accordingly to reflect this. If you'd like, you can see the now-obsolete section of the post covering this under the details tag.)
Obsolete
The Onion and its staff will be going on strike for reasons I've profiled at length, which can be summarized as G/O Media's refusal to agree to a collective bargaining agreement that has "competitive compensation, raises that keep up with cost of living, AI protections, and a slate of benefits that align with G/O Media's stated interest in worker well-being." That strike will cover workers at:- The Onion;
- The A.V. Club;
- The Takeout; and
- Deadspin
G/O Media properties not affected by this strike will be Gizmodo, Jalopnik, Kotaku, Quartz, and The Root. Those publications fall under GMG Union. As this strike has no set end date once it begins, you can sign up for updates on picket lines from WGA here.
I've, to a lesser degree on this account, profiled the circumstances of papers under Alden Global Capital, a hedge fund which has bluntly speaking been killing journalism around this country. (You could say that this hedge fund and its owners are some of the people with names and addresses.) A few days ago one of their publications, the New York Daily News, walked out. That was in protest of further cuts to the already-gutted paper, which is a signature of Alden ownership. Now other Alden assets are picking up where the Daily News left off.
Workers at the following places under their ownership are on a one-day strike tomorrow:
- The Chicago Tribune;
- the Orlando Sentinel;
- The Beacon-News (Aurora, IL), The Courier-News (Elgin, IL), The Naperville Sun, and Daily Southtown, all members of the Suburban CT Guild
- The Virginian-Pilot, Daily Press (Hampton Roads, VA), The Virginia Gazette, and Tidewater Review, all members of Tidewater Media Guild
- The Morning Call (Allentown, PA); and
- Tribune Content Agency, a syndication company which Alden owns through Tribune Publishing
(As there's been no unified call for the Alden papers, there is a possibility I have missed a publication in this column which is going on strike. If so I will update this post.)
Usual rules apply: do not cross the picket line and do not click on links from these publications or their social media pages starting at midnight. This has been explicitly called for by the Alden papers.