“Management is constantly telling us to work harder, take on new responsibilities, and give up our rights,” @baltsunguild.bsky.social told The Objective, “so to see our hard work suddenly replaced by incoherent slop one day is just extra demeaning.”

The Objective@objectivejournos.bsky.social · 7mo ago

The Baltimore Sun’s AI usage is an extension of a power struggle that’s been brewing inside the nearly 200-year-old paper’s newsroom since it was acquired by JTF Publications back in 2024. @madisyn-writes.bsky.social reports: objectivejournalism.org/2026/02/when...

Readers deserve journalism that lives up to our ethical standards regardless of how it is created. And journalists deserve to have a say in how new technology impacts our work.

Washington-Baltimore News Guild@wbng.org · 7mo ago

Unit chairs at @baltsunguild.bsky.social & @pen-guild.bsky.social joined @middayonwypr.bsky.social to talk about their outlets' use of AI. AI can be a tool to support journalists, but news organizations have deployed it in unethical ways without a human behind it. www.wypr.org/show/midday/...

Unit chairs at @baltsunguild.bsky.social & @pen-guild.bsky.social joined @middayonwypr.bsky.social to talk about their outlets' use of AI. AI can be a tool to support journalists, but news organizations have deployed it in unethical ways without a human behind it. www.wypr.org/show/midday/...

Newswriter unions slam Baltimore Sun's trial use of AI to write high-profile news analyses

Two news guild chairs — Dan Belson of the Baltimore Sun and Ariel Wittenberg of POLITICO/E&E, discuss the Baltimore Sun's trial use of AI to write two recent high-profile news analyses.

wypr.org

How thorough was that “review” of the AI slop, anyway? The second sentence of the disclaimer calls Donald Trump the “former President.” The same error is duplicated in the lede. It does not take a journalist to find out who the president is.

Baltimore Sun Guild@baltsunguild.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Sun management has once again disparaged our talented -human- reporters and their work, this time by filling more than half a page in today’s paper with AI slop.

Sun management has once again disparaged our talented -human- reporters and their work, this time by filling more than half a page in today’s paper with AI slop.

We’ve filed two more unfair labor practice cases against @baltimoresun.bsky.social, which has been refusing to bargain with us for over 4 months — instead choosing to threaten our members with new union-busting policies. Baltimore deserves better. We won’t be silenced.

Baltimore Sun owner David Smith’s -separate- company, Sinclair, released new financials this month showing that they’re close to making over $1 million off of their ties to The Sun in just 2025. And yet, The Sun refuses to even negotiate wages with its union employees.

The latest move by @baltimoresun.bsky.social in its crusade to silence its union employees: a directive that bans any desk signage with messaging about collective bargaining, calling them “divisive.” We’ve shown solidarity this way for decades. This is textbook union busting.

They’ve already shown what they will do if their employees don’t have union protections: fire them for raising the alarm about the Sun’s declining journalistic standards

Baltimore Sun Guild@baltsunguild.bsky.social · 11mo ago

David Smith and Armstrong Williams’ idea of a contract with union @baltimoresun.bsky.social staff: • Gut long-held protections against unfair discipline and layoffs. • Give management free rein. • Silence staff from speaking out.

David Smith and Armstrong Williams’ idea of a contract with union @baltimoresun.bsky.social staff: • Gut long-held protections against unfair discipline and layoffs. • Give management free rein. • Silence staff from speaking out.

We stand in solidarity with Karen Attiah and our siblings at the @postguild.bsky.social. Journalists should not fear reprisal — especially from their employer — for doing their jobs. Write the Post’s opinions editor Adam O’Neal and publisher Will Lewis: actionnetwork.org/letters/wash...

Send a letter to Post CEO and Editorial Page Editor voicing your concern

On Friday, Washington Post CEO and Publisher Will Lewis posted a publisher’s note stating that the Washington Post Editorial Board would no longer be endorsing presidential candidates, including in th...

actionnetwork.org

Washington Post Guild@postguild.bsky.social · 12mo ago

We remain concerned about the wrongful firing of Karen Attiah and continued cuts to the Opinions sections, including layoffs of five Guild members. We asked Post leaders to affirm their commitment to free speech and due process. Now you can, too: actionnetwork.org/letters/wash...

Happy Saturday. Here’s another treasure that @baltimoresun.bsky.social tried to sneak into our contract: “Employees shall be free to engage in any activities outside their working hours” that are not “in conflict with [the company’s] views expressed in its publications.” 🤔

We ran the numbers for @baltimoresun.bsky.social’s “best” offer: they want to rip nearly $800,000 worth of potential severance away from our members in the event of layoffs, averaging out at $27K per unit employee — and $42K for our longest-serving staff members. That’s disparagement.

The Sun emphasized the need to claw away steps and severance from its union staff via its economic package, which offers journalists $$ for appearing on Sinclair stations. Meanwhile, Sinclair has disclosed making more than half a million in revenue off of The Sun since David Smith bought the paper.

Baltimore Sun Guild@baltsunguild.bsky.social · 12mo ago

The Sun’s “generous” wage offer: staffers give up nearly all guaranteed raises, but journalists get bonuses for hitting arbitrary click quotas — and face discipline if they don’t. We suggested that they reward, not punish, staff for upholding quality journalism. They ignored us and walked away.

The Sun’s “generous” wage offer: staffers give up nearly all guaranteed raises, but journalists get bonuses for hitting arbitrary click quotas — and face discipline if they don’t. We suggested that they reward, not punish, staff for upholding quality journalism. They ignored us and walked away.

#TBT Remember when Sun co-owner Armstrong Williams responded to our concerns with a column about how a “free marketplace of ideas is indispensable?” His and David Smith’s management tried to make us sign a gag rule, then walked away from contract negotiations because we wouldn’t muzzle ourselves.

.@baltimoresun.bsky.social journalists face a gag order imposed by owner David Smith. “They’re trying to scare the union into silence,” says a @baltsunguild.bsky.social leader, addressing the negotiating tactics used by the newspaper’s management. tinyurl.com/dbwhxwt8

Baltimore Sun Guild journalists face a gag order imposed by owner David Smith | Baltimore Brew

“They’re trying to scare the union into silence,” says a Guild leader, addressing the negotiating tactics used by the newspaper’s management.

tinyurl.com

David Smith’s first order of business after purchasing The Baltimore Sun was to disparage the newspaper’s dedicated staff at an all-hands meeting. Since then, his company has sought to silence any criticism from the union. We get it, David: You can dish it, but you certainly can’t take it.

We recently invited Baltimore Sun owner/Sinclair chair David Smith to the bargaining table — he suggested that he could get a deal done in “five minutes.” That meeting never came. Instead, his lawyer declared impasse, and told us they’d implement a contract that silences union members.

We’re still around, and we’re still fighting. We’ve been busy trying to negotiate a deal that defends top-notch journalism, quality jobs and a strong union base at Baltimore’s newspaper of record.

Our union journalists work tirelessly to hold the powerful accountable, and that includes in our own workplace. The Baltimore Sun’s ownership wants us silent. Send a message to David Smith and Armstrong Williams: Charm City won’t stand for millionaire union busters.

Baltimore deserves quality journalism, not muzzled union journalists. Tell David Smith and Armstrong Williams: Truth matters. actionnetwork.org/letters/resp...

Baltimore Sun Guild@baltsunguild.bsky.social · 12mo ago

Thanks for having us on today, @majorityreport.bsky.social! Catch our interview with @samseder.bsky.social about our year-plus of bargaining and the Orwellian “non-disparagement” clause that David Smith’s management is trying to force on us. www.youtube.com/live/ULPaiRQ...

Thanks for having us on today, @majorityreport.bsky.social! Catch our interview with @samseder.bsky.social about our year-plus of bargaining and the Orwellian “non-disparagement” clause that David Smith’s management is trying to force on us. www.youtube.com/live/ULPaiRQ...

Trump's New ABC Threat Exposes 'Business Decision' BS w/ Hannah Gaskill, Dan Belson | MR Live

YouTube video by The Majority Report w/ Sam Seder

youtube.com

Send a message to David Smith and Armstrong Williams: Respect union journalists. actionnetwork.org/letters/resp...

Respect the Sun and its Staff!

Since The Baltimore Sun was taken over by David Smith and Armstrong Williams in 2024, staff and residents of the city have been taken aback by sliding journalistic standards in the paper. This is comp...

actionnetwork.org

When the Baltimore Sun opened its new office last year, ownership saw fit to decorate it with “motivational quotes”. Motivational to someone looking to undermine journalism and our union, that is.

One year ago today, Baltimore Sun employees learned their paper had been purchased by Sinclair executive chairman David Smith. In just 12 months, Smith has made his agenda clear, with union-busting tactics and a disregard for journalistic integrity. Here's a look back. (1/5)

A rare newspaper war was brewing in Baltimore. A turbulent ownership change at the Sun may spoil everything. From Poynter: www.poynter.org/business-wor...

A rare newspaper war was brewing in Baltimore. Then a billionaire owner began meddling. - Poynter

News readers benefitted as the ascendant Banner forged its identity against the established Sun. A turbulent ownership change may spoil everything.

poynter.org