For those of us working in or keeping tabs on news organizations, it’s been a rough few months.It seems like every day brings word of another round of media layoffs, or, in rare cases, the outright elimination of entire newsrooms. Meanwhile, press freedoms are facing “unprecedented” attacks around the world, despite the ever-growing need for accurate news.

But amid all that, there are glimmers of hope in the industry. A surge in union activism within news organizations — part of a broader unionization trend throughout the country — has empowered workers to collaboratively push back against corporate cutbacks. And journalists and media workers more broadly are stepping off their jobs in growing numbers to protest low wages and poor working conditions, prompting some observers to dub this season the media industry’s “summer of strikes.”

In recent weeks, I’ve been looking into an under-covered component of this trend: the growth of digital strike publications. As workers for outlets like Insider and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette have withheld their labor, they haven’t stopped writing entirely — just moved their reporting to new venues.

The resulting publications differ in many ways. Insider’s “Business Outsider” rival was launched primarily as a means of drawing attention to workers’ 13-day strike — the longest such action at a digital media company in U.S. history.

The new site sought to emulate the tone of Insider’s legacy publication, demonstrating to bosses that the workers are the ones who provide the company’s value, and not the other way around. In the week it was actively publishing, the outlet ran personal reflections about striking workers’ financial planning, listicle round-ups of the best picket signs and even earned virality with an exclusive statement from the White House noting President Joe Biden’s commitment to standing with striking journalists. Such a presidential comment had “never happened in my lifetime,” a media labor expert told me.

At Pittsburgh Union Progress, conversely, reporters were intentional about creating an outlet distinct from the Post-Gazette, one focused on under-covered communities and pursuing partnerships with other outlets — not competition. In (digital) print for nearly nine months now, the site is making a name for itself in the local journalism community.

What struck me most about these efforts were not their differences but their similarities. Workers involved spoke of a newfound camaraderie within the staff, as reporters on different teams who’d never spoken before worked to collaborate on a new, shared vision. These efforts have seen mixed results: Insider workers won an agreement on a new contract with significant concessions from management; Post-Gazette workers’ strike, meanwhile, continues with little hope of a resolution anytime soon.

Still, it was heartening to speak with reporters who were cognizant of — and indeed boastful about — their collective power. As someone who’s worked in news organizations big and small, I’ve seen firsthand how bosses can stoke competition to divide workers. Digital strike publications are one way for us to push back.

—Jacob Gardenswartz 

What does a sustainable Spanish-language news organization look like?: Aldana Vales spoke with leaders of Spanish-language news outlets throughout the country to map out the different strategies they’ve used to devote time, energy, and money to serving communities often neglected by mainstream English news. (The Objective)

“Only one mode at G/O Media: Spend less and extract more”: The members of Gizmodo Media Group Union condemned their company’s decision to begin a “modest test” of AI-written content on its sites, noting that the move comes after years of disinvestment in G/O Media newsrooms and continued layoffs. (GMG Union Twitter)

U.S. national media (again) places shock value over human lives: In prioritizing coverage of the submersible meant to take its passengers to explore the Titanic wreckage over a migrant shipwreck that resulted in mass casualties, Alex Shephard argues national American media fails to allocate its resources to cover “difficult stories, particularly difficult international ones.” (The New Republic)

ProPublica unionizes: The investigative newsroom, the U.S.’s largest, is asking for management to voluntarily recognize the ProPublica Guild, composed of reporters, editors, business staff, and communications staff across the country. (ProPublica Guild Twitter)

“Political neutrality has never been the silver bullet”: Curtis Yee breaks down the promises of The Pour Over, a news outlet with a staff lacking journalistic experience that touts its trustworthiness through its political neutrality but fails to reckon with the hypocrisy of its positioning. (Sojourners)

3 days until … the CRIPtic x Spread the Word Writers Salon for deaf and disabled writers, hosted by Athena Stevens. The online workshop, reading, and open mic event is part of a year-long program of writers’ salons focused on supporting underrepresented writers.

12 days until … Demystifying Newsrooms, a webinar hosted by the Center for Cooperative Media for journalists to explain their government and democracy coverage to wider audiences. Lynn Walsh and Joy Mayer from Trusting News will lead the webinar.

14 days until … the deadline to apply to SPJ’s Freelance Fellowship. The fellowship, for those who earn a majority of their income through freelancing, provides a free SPJ23 conference registration, a travel and lodging stipend and mentorship.

Looking for a job? Here are a few places to look: INN | ONA | JournalismJobs.com | 10 Jobs and a Dog | NABJ | AAJA | NAHJ | NLGJA | @WritersofColor | MEO Jobs | Freelance Journalist Rates | Source Jobs | Opportunities of the Week ($) | West Coast Media Jobs

How about a style guide? Trans Journalist Association | Diversity Style Guide | Tribal Nations Media Guide | NABJ Style Guide | Disability Language Style Guide | AAJA Guide to Covering Asian Pacific America | NAHJ Cultural Competence Handbook |  SPJ Race & Gender Hotline | AMEJA Media Resource Guide | The Press in Prison | The Conscious Style Guide

Thanks for reading our newsletter! We appreciate you being here, and we’ll have more for you soon.

This issue is by Jacob Gardenswartz, Nawar Nemeh, and James Salanga, with edits by Janelle Salanga.