Editor’s Note: From the beginning of our original organizing effort, Truthout’s union representative, Shannon Duffy, has supported Truthout staff throughout the unionizing process. He continues to guide our members towards solidifying our groundbreaking contract as the first online-only media organization to be unionized. – Sari Gelzer (Unit Chair)
The recently completed contract talks with Truthout mark the end of a rather eventful year at one of our Guild’s newest bargaining units. And Truthout’s staff – union and nonunion alike – are to be congratulated for hanging in there and reaching a tentative agreement. All that remains now is for the tentative agreement to be distributed to the membership and a ratification vote to be held (and a special shout out to Guild Rep. Jay Schmitz for the vital role he played in shepherding the process along).
When workers at Truthout voted (almost unanimously) to join our union, the online publication was in dire straights. Their former director had departed, leaving a broken budget and a trail of debt that demanded immediate attention. Painful belt tightening then ensued. Truthout’s new director makes less than one quarter of the previous director’s salary, and she has ended the practice of having mostly independent contractors perform full-time work for the web site. All employees of Truthout are actually employees – meaning they are entitled to negotiated benefits including health care and retirement. Along with employee status comes the fact that everyone also now earns a living wage.
Truthout has changed in other ways, too. No longer does the site mostly repost articles from other sources; instead, the publication now generates most of its own content. As a result, relationships with other media – print and digital – have been repaired and strengthened. And it is here, I believe, where Truthout’s association with the Guild – and its Principles of Professionalism and Honesty in the News Media – can be highly beneficial (are you listening, other online publications?). No matter how the delivery system morphs or evolves, the ability to tell a truthful, compelling story is something that will always be in demand. Our union has decades of experience with issues that challenge that ability – whether it be setting a standard for quality journalism or defending free speech in newsrooms, in courtrooms and in the hearing rooms of Washington, DC. Such experience and first amendment expertise are key assets for any media entity, and for those with whom we have a relationship, are theirs for the asking.
Since its unionization and reorganization, Truthout has worked hard to uphold and even strengthen its integrity. It has launched an internship program to help support new reporters and editors, and its recent investigative reports – related to oil drilling, for example – have been garnering high marks by mainstream media. For that – and more – this plucky publication deserves to survive and prosper. It’s been an eventful year, and I commend Truthout for living its values of accountability and transparency.
Truthout’s Union Members belonging to The Newspaper Guild – Communication Workers of America Local 36047 include: Jason Leopold, William Rivers Pitt, Mark Karlin, Leslie Thatcher, Sari Gelzer, Matt Renner, Annie Stoddard, Joshua Jacobo, Kendel Gordon, Alexa deMonterice, Lance Page, Jared Rodriguez.
We’re not backing down in the face of Trump’s threats.
As Donald Trump is inaugurated a second time, independent media organizations are faced with urgent mandates: Tell the truth more loudly than ever before. Do that work even as our standard modes of distribution (such as social media platforms) are being manipulated and curtailed by forces of fascist repression and ruthless capitalism. Do that work even as journalism and journalists face targeted attacks, including from the government itself. And do that work in community, never forgetting that we’re not shouting into a faceless void – we’re reaching out to real people amid a life-threatening political climate.
Our task is formidable, and it requires us to ground ourselves in our principles, remind ourselves of our utility, dig in and commit.
As a dizzying number of corporate news organizations – either through need or greed – rush to implement new ways to further monetize their content, and others acquiesce to Trump’s wishes, now is a time for movement media-makers to double down on community-first models.
At Truthout, we are reaffirming our commitments on this front: We won’t run ads or have a paywall because we believe that everyone should have access to information, and that access should exist without barriers and free of distractions from craven corporate interests. We recognize the implications for democracy when information-seekers click a link only to find the article trapped behind a paywall or buried on a page with dozens of invasive ads. The laws of capitalism dictate an unending increase in monetization, and much of the media simply follows those laws. Truthout and many of our peers are dedicating ourselves to following other paths – a commitment which feels vital in a moment when corporations are evermore overtly embedded in government.
Over 80 percent of Truthout‘s funding comes from small individual donations from our community of readers, and the remaining 20 percent comes from a handful of social justice-oriented foundations. Over a third of our total budget is supported by recurring monthly donors, many of whom give because they want to help us keep Truthout barrier-free for everyone.
You can help by giving today. Whether you can make a small monthly donation or a larger gift, Truthout only works with your support.