Next Monday we will be having our event Big Media and the rise of Authoritarianism: How We Fight Back. With the rise of media consolidation that threatens media workers across the industry, it's more important than ever to discuss and organize around this issue. Register: bit.ly/FightBigMedia

Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: Big Media and the Rise of Authoritarianism: How We Fight Back. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.

Join the National Writers Union (NWU) and its Digital Media Division the Freelance Solidarity Project (FSP-NWU), NewsGuild-CWA, Rebuild Local News, Media Power Collaborative, Free Press, Documentary P...

bit.ly

Media monopolies a potent threat to media workers and to US democracy overall. Join us on Monday, April 27 at 7 pm ET for a panel discussion on the dangers of media consolidation, how we got here, and what we can do about it. Register: bit.ly/FightBigMedia

Media workers across disciplines are laboring under precarity. Help us fight to raise pay and improve working conditions. nwu.org/join Illustration by @colleentie.bsky.social

A healthy critical landscape demands institutional investment and good-faith bargaining. Help FSP-NWU fight for better rates! nwu.org/join Illustration by @colleentie.bsky.social

As media workers, we are mutually invested in the amplification of cultural output. A dollar a word would help combat inequality in the media space. nwu.org/join Illustration by @colleentie.bsky.social

Published authors rely on freelance critics for dialogue, context, and exposure. Help us fight to raise pay and improve working conditions. nwu.org/join Illustration by @colleentie.bsky.social

The assault on criticism echoes the subversion of free speech, embrace of generative A.I., and hostility toward the press. FSP-NWU is fighting for better rates. nwu.org/join Illustration by @colleentie.bsky.social

Criticism is a crucial and democratic counterforce in the face of marketing budgets and recommendation algorithms. Help FSP-NWU fight for better rates! nwu.org/join Illustration by @colleentie.bsky.social

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...

FSP Rate Sharing Drop-in

Join the Rate Sharing Working Group for an end-of-year drop-in on Thursday, December 4 at 12pm ET! Now's the perfect time to celebrate this year's wins. We want to hear: What did you do this year not…

forms.gle

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

Freelance Solidarity Project@fspnwu.bsky.social · 8mo ago

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 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...

FSP Rate Sharing Drop-in

Join the Rate Sharing Working Group for an end-of-year drop-in on Thursday, December 4 at 12pm ET! Now's the perfect time to celebrate this year's wins. We want to hear: What did you do this year not…

docs.google.com

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...

FSP Rate Sharing Drop-in

Join the Rate Sharing Working Group for an end-of-year drop-in on Thursday, December 4 at 12pm ET! Now's the perfect time to celebrate this year's wins. We want to hear: What did you do this year not…

docs.google.com

The feeling is so mutual!

Press On@pressonsouth.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Last month, our co-director, Neesha, joined dozens of women & gender-expansive labor leaders for WILL Empower’s retreat & celebration. We love WE & worker justice orgs that support movement journalists like the National Writers Union’s Freelance Solidarity Project @fspnwu.bsky.social.

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

Alexis Gunderson@alexiskg.bsky.social · 9mo ago

AND: this contraction is being felt across the cultural criticism landscape, and is unsustainable not just for criticism as a viable career (lol I work at a library now!!!), but also for humanity. My culture critic comrades @fspnwu.bsky.social are organizing to fight this contraction. Join us!

"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." 🫡

Sarah Jaffe@sarahljaffe.bsky.social · 9mo ago

I contributed a piece to TPM's look back at 25 years of digital media. Unsurprisingly, I wrote about unionization and how it shaped the press: talkingpointsmemo.com/tpm-25/digit...

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...

Hell Gate *subscribe today!*@hellgatenyc.com · 9mo ago

How did a relatively standard union action spiral into four terminations and even more suspensions? Just ask the executives at Condé Nast.

Sign the petition to reinstate the Fired Four!

Condé Union@condeunion.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Stand with Condé Nast Union 🚨 We’re calling on you to sign our petition telling management to reinstate the Fired Four, reverse the suspensions, and end the union busting. Sign here: actionnetwork.org/petitions/te...

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.

Freelancer Policies

The Flytrap and National Writers Union have agreed upon freelancer policies for media workers contributing to The Flytrap Media.

the-flytrap.ghost.io

Tomorrow, comrades! Who’s joining us?

Freelance Solidarity Project@fspnwu.bsky.social · 10mo ago

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

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

Freelance Solidarity Project@fspnwu.bsky.social · 10mo ago

"Freelancers can't collectively bargain."

"Freelancers can't collectively bargain."

So Mayer@suchmayer.bsky.social · 10mo ago

In honor of spooky month, share a 4 word horror story that only someone in your profession would understand. Net Book Agreement ends.

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...

Politico’s recent AI experiments shouldn’t be subject to newsroom editorial standards, its editors testify

In a July arbitration hearing, Politico faced allegations that two generative AI tools violated its union contract.

niemanlab.org

redlines.nwu.org

Prism@prismreports.org · 11mo ago

In September 2024, the National Writers Union (@nwu.org) released a report tracking 44 cases of retaliation against more than 100 media workers in the U.S. perceived to be supportive of the Palestinian cause, or critical of the Israeli government.

Thrilled to be a part of this crucial work! 🫡

Rebuild Local News@rebuildlocalnews.bsky.social · 11mo ago

We’re thrilled to welcome the @nwu.org to the Rebuild Local News Coalition! With over 1,000 writers, including 500 freelance journalists, NWU and its @fspnwu.bsky.social fight for fair pay, better contracts, and more opportunities for writers.

"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...

Criticism Is Literature. Why Is It Vanishing?, by Adam Morgan

What do the best book reviews do? What is the current state of the critical ecosystem? Chicago Review of Books founder Adam Morgan takes stock of book reviewing in the US.

worldliteraturetoday.org