Journalists are increasingly unionizing

Do unions still work?

Workers everywhere from Starbucks to Uber have made headlines about unionizing—and some union experts argue that despite union membership being lower than it was in eras past, unions could still help the economy.

While critics of labor unions argue that unions make it difficult to discipline low performers and drive up labor costs, union advocates believe that unions are a useful tool for increasing workers' pay and benefits.

Amazon has historically opposed efforts among its employees to unionize

Amazon has done everything from creating mandatory anti-union meetings to hiring union-busting consultants, and even engaging in employee surveillance. Such efforts have proven to be a lightning rod for pro-labor groups.

With roots stretching back to the 18th century, unions have long been at the center of change in labor rights.

Explore a list of some of the largest labor unions in the United States.

Union membership was 9.9% in 2024, the lowest in nearly 40 years.

Unions are organizations workers form to improve aspects of their working conditions

While there are many different types of labor unions, they are, generally speaking, organizations workers form to improve aspects of their working conditions, such as vacation time or discipline processes.

Winning Pulitzers doesn't attract readers to newspapers.

One journalist argued New Journalism writers prioritized ego over public service

Michael J. Arlen wrote a critique of the then-fashionable and popular form for The Atlantic in 1972, warning about the risk of emphasizing a writer’s perspective over facts. While Arlen applauded the innovation of the style, he believed focusing on voice and perspective could be irresponsible.

Joseph Pulitzer created modern journalism

Long before there was cable news, there were newspapers, and Joseph Pulitzer was their king. A Hungarian immigrant, Pulitzer began his career as a reporter himself before buying a newspaper that he could shape with his editorial vision. Pulitzer's papers were bold, provocative, and visually striking, setting a new standard for newspapers nationwide as they moved into the 20th century.

The economic impact of the Hollywood strikes

The 2023 strikes in Hollywood resulted in significant wins for the WGA, DGA, and SAG-AFTRA unions. Workers were promised to receive bonuses that allowed them to benefit from high-performing streaming shows and films. This article shares how the rewards have been distributed to union members since their implementation. See a breakdown of the bonuses for each union, how the industry has improved, and the challenges some members still face.

Joseph Pulitzer mainstreamed yellow journalism

One way Joseph Pulitzer revolutionized the newspaper industry was by developing an approach to reporting that relied on sensationalism and could be a little loose with the facts. Pulitzer and rival William Randolph Hearst pushed that sensationalism to the next level in their competition to attract readers.

See the US industries with the highest union membership rates.

The Times Square New Year's celebration originated as a party for The New York Times

The paper moved to the area, originally called Longacre Square, in 1904 and lobbied the city to rename it after the publication. The paper’s publisher, Alfred Ochs, threw a massive all-day party on New Year’s Eve to celebrate the opening of the paper’s headquarters, establishing the location as a destination for the holiday.

See the process of starting a union.

The evolving categories of the Pulitzer mirror the state of contemporary journalism

The inaugural prizes in 1917 selected four winners: two for newspaper journalism (including a look inside the German Empire amid World War I) and two for books. However, the slate has evolved to include online-only outlets (2009), magazines (2015), and audio reporting (2020). The 2024 Pulitzers, in particular, marked a noticeable shift: More digital outlets were awarded than traditional newspapers, illustrating a sharp decline in local newspapers and a rise in digital outlets.

Should companies be owned by their workers?

In the last half-century, so-called private equity has transformed industries by purchasing private companies, cutting costs, loading up debt, and then selling the business at a premium—all at a huge profit to the investors. Workers, on the other hand, are often left with nothing. Listen to how both pro-worker economists and a private equity stalwart are trying to shift ownership to workers—a growing tactic proven to improve worker satisfaction and company value.

27 states have right-to-work laws

That means employees in those states can choose whether or not to join a union at their workplace. Right-to-work laws also make it optional for employees in unionized workplaces to pay fees associated with union membership.

Women work harder for Pulitzers

While the Pulitzers have never been segregated by gender, a 2012 study by the University of Missouri found female winners required significantly more elite credentials—Ivy League degrees, experience at top newspapers, and the like—than their male counterparts. Similar credentials are also overrepresented in the category of international reporting, suggesting the award favors those with more privileged upbringings.

The Wall Street Journal: a timeline

The Wall Street Journal got its start as a financial news bulletin for people trading stocks. Since then, it has evolved beyond just financial news. It now ranks among the preeminent global business news sources.

Pulitzer's newspapers were intended for the masses

His newspapers, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the New York World, transformed journalism by marketing to a mass audience rather than just the elite.

Jeff Bezos purchased The Washington Post in 2013

He purchased the legacy newspaper with the intention of bringing it into the internet age, thereby helping improve its financials. Bezos’ ownership of the newspaper has been widely criticized, particularly by those who do not want the wealthiest in the country to have that much influence on the press. One Bezos critic explains the standpoint further in this article.

Some California cities outsource their public services entirely to the county

Southern California's "contract cities" incorporate as municipalities but pay Los Angeles County for police, fire, and other services rather than running their own departments—a cost-saving model common across the region.

The growing role of AI in journalism

As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more widely available, journalism must adapt and establish ethical norms for how the technology is used. This report from the Center for News, Technology & Innovation looks at the issue from every angle, including legal considerations, potential biases in datasets, and the speed at which AI capabilities are changing. It also includes links to recent studies on the use of AI in journalism.

Writer Gay Talese has unorthodox practices for researching his stories

Since Talese began working at the New York Times in the 1950s, he has woven eccentric details into his stories about the people he covers. His immersive journalistic methods, such as living in a nudist colony, sparked controversy, but also helped him uncover aspects of people's lives.

Former New Yorker editor Tina Brown coined the term “gig economy” in 2009

Although this article was written pre-pandemic, the workers interviewed in it still feel representative of the sector’s modern ethos. In the piece, the writer interviews a handful of gig workers about why, exactly, they’ve chosen to make a living off of Airbnbs or TaskRabbit gigs rather than doing something else.

Paper coupon suppliers and major newspaper insert distributors are in decline

Given the uptick in digital coupon adoption, sellers who offered coupon inserts or individual coupons for sale online have been closing up shop in recent years.

What it's like to win a Pulitzer

Four Pulitzer Prize winners share how winning the award has impacted their lives and journalism careers. The high-profile nature of the award tends to legitimize the author and grant them better access to jobs and opportunities, but it can also increase pressure on the writer to meet the same standard of their award-winning journalism.

Timeline of women in labor history

In 1866, newly freed black women working as laundresses in Jackson, Mississippi, formed a union and went on strike for higher wages. But it wasn't until 1974, that the Coalition of Labor Union Women was founded as America's only national organization for union women. Want to find out more about the history of women in the labor movement? Click here for the full timeline.

The Mexican-American War led to the birth of the Associated Press

To cover the distant war efficiently, rival New York newspapers pooled resources to share reports from the front—forming what became the Associated Press. The war marked a turning point in how Americans received real-time news about foreign conflicts.

See the percentage of employed workers who are union members in your state.

Private equity deals sometimes come with layoffs.

3 out of Palantir's 5 cofounders once served as editor-in-chief of The Stanford Review

After Peter Thiel founded the conservative student newspaper, he remained involved and invested in the paper's success. Other Palantir cofounders, Joe Lonsdale and Stephen Cohen, also both previously served as the paper's editor-in-chief.

Tom Wolfe wrote a humorous account of the birth of New Journalism

Wolfe explains the style came from journalists attempting to make fact-based reporting read like a novel, arguing that traditional reporting left readers “bored to tears.” Instead of emphasizing an objective point of view, Wolfe favored detailed descriptions that established complex characters, painted interesting scenes, and shared dialogue.

See a timeline of the consolidation of the television and film industry, beginning with Vaudeville theatre traditions from the 1880s.

Critics of New Journalism believe the form shares unreliable information

After Gay Talese’s 2016 book on Gerald Foos was found to lack factual accuracy, criticism of New Journalism returned to the limelight. Some believe the narrative focus requires abandoning the facts and leaves too much room for writers to make up material rather than present what actually happened.

More than 80% of New York City's newsstands have closed in the past two decades, in part due to a series of price caps that hurt the stands' ability to evolve.

Gay Talese never fully accepted the title ‘New Journalism’

“I don't think it was new, and I don’t think it was journalism,” he said. He instead viewed what he and other writers were doing as defining reality using a storytelling technique. In other words, storytelling that wasn’t fiction.

New York Times Co. v. Sullivan transformed libel law and the relationship between the press and public officials

The 1964 case arose when an Alabama official sued The New York Times over a civil rights advertisement he claimed was defamatory. The ruling makes it very difficult for public officials to win libel suits against the press unless they can prove deliberate falsehood.

Supervisors are legally prohibited from joining unions.

One of the driving forces behind an increase in pay transparency laws is their ability to help close the gender pay gap.

Since 2018, pay transparency laws have been enacted in more than a few states and cities across the US. But what's driving the trend, from a legal perspective? This law review article attempts to answer that question, citing factors such as the Great Recession and the gender pay gap—click here to learn more.

130,000 working musicians once went on strike

The early days of the record industry looked much different than they do now. There were few national record labels and there were organized musicians who viewed themselves more as day laborers rather than artists. That allowed for an organized strike by the American Federation of Musicians.

Inside a recent Lyft lawsuit

Over the past few years, there have been a few lawsuits regarding the way gig workers are classified as employees. Specifically, these lawsuits aim to see if gig workers (like Lyft drivers, in one recent case) should be classified as full-time employees or independent contractors. For more information, read this article.

Volunteer fire departments are declining as communities shift to career staff

As populations increase and emergency calls grow more complicated, many communities are replacing volunteer fire departments with full-time professional staff—a change that boosts response capacity and reliability but also significantly raises costs.

How the New Yorker went from poker game to powerhouse

After 100 years in print, the New Yorker is still going strong, publishing weekly issues featuring the best in long-form journalism, cultural criticism, and short fiction. This history of the magazine's founding and early years shows how its balance of high and lowbrow culture, along with a fortuitous game of poker, led to its longstanding success.

The Dow Jones & Company began as a small news service in 1882

Founded in 1882 by Charles Dow, Edward Jones and Charles Bergstresser, Dow Jones & Company started with hand-delivered market bulletins. Today it’s a global financial news giant, best known for publishing The Wall Street Journal.

A teenage Dickens found work as a political journalist

Dickens found work as a reporter for the Mirror of Parliament, a weekly newspaper focused on the British legislature. After a few years, he moved to the Morning Chronicle, where he began producing his creative work. Professor John Drew, author of "Dickens, the Journalist," said that the writer "realized he could wield a much more direct, if not more glamorous kind of power, by using his position as a leading writer of fiction and a magazine editor."

Show business is increasingly leaving Hollywood

Using tax incentives, states like Georgia, New Jersey, and New Mexico are luring studios to produce their films and television shows outside of California. Changing business models after COVID-19 largely influenced this change.

Minor leaguers once unionized for better pay, housing, and medical care

For decades, Minor League baseball players endured overcrowded housing, indifferent medical care, and all-night bus rides for a chance to make it to “The Show.” And they did it for as little as $4,800 a year.

Historians reflect on the best State of the Unions ever

These political experts highlight standout State of the Union addresses that shaped the nation's direction—from Washington's first and Lincoln's Civil War messages to FDR's wartime resolve, LBJ's Great Society launch, and Clinton's scandal-shadowed 1998 speech.