Are the Inmates Running the Asylum?
Bubba
18 Sep
Staff revolts have become an increasingly common sight in America’s most prestigious corporate newsrooms. (Semafor)
The latest: The New York Times Tech Guild, a 600-worker strong union, has threatened an Election Day strike if the paper doesn’t meet their lengthy list of demands.
That list includes a four-day work week, substantial pay increases, full health care coverage for employees and their families, guaranteed stock grants, non-performance-based annual bonuses and protections against layoffs related to technological advancements, particularly AI.
All this would cost more than $100 million over three years, according to the company.
Zoom out: In recent years, newsroom employees have often banded together to force concessions in service of social causes or improved working conditions.
NBC News hires then fires Ronna McDaniel (2024): NBC walked back its hiring of the former RNC chair after staff protests, which include some of the company’s biggest network personalities.
Tom Cotton’s New York Times op-ed (2020): Times employees protested the publication of the Republican senator’s op-ed calling for the military to restore order during the George Floyd protests, leading to the resignation of the Times’ opinion editor.
CNN hires Sarah Isgur (2019): CNN staff raised concerns over potential conflicts of interest when the network hired former Trump official Sarah Isgur as a political editor, resulting in her reassignment as a political analyst.
Politico protests over Ben Shapiro (2021): Politico staff criticized the decision to let the Daily Wire co-founder and conservative commentator guest-write the outlet’s flagship "Playbook" newsletter.
The Atlantic firing Kevin D. Williamson (2018): The Atlantic faced internal blowback after hiring conservative writer Kevin Williamson, resulting in his dismissal due to past remarks on abortion.
Washington Post staff grumbling (2022): A Washington Post employee rebellion led an incoming editor to back out of taking the job.
The trend: Journalists have started openly questioning whether traditional industry practices, such as objectivity and balance, are outdated.
The data: Surveys show journalists are far more likely than the general public to say not every side deserves an equal hearing.
Vox reporter Sean Illing:
The American media ecosystem has become saturated with misinformation and noise because the press remains committed to a set of norms that are ill-adapted to the digital age. … the obsession with “objectivity” in particular has led to an obsession with “balance” or “fairness” that makes it easy for bad-faith actors to get away with pushing falsehoods.
Bubba’s Two Cents
Journalists tend to take themselves and their occupation very seriously. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. But combine that with the growing activist and progressive streak on the left (where most reporters tend to land ideologically) and you’ve got a recipe for lots of young employees who view protesting — even at work — as just part of the job description. It’s hard to feel too bad for the corporate news giants forced to deal with this behavior, since they’ve done pretty much nothing but encourage and coddle the ideology that led to it.