First graph, first sentence of release should read: ...starts Monday, Jan. 11, 2010 (sted starts Monday, Jan. 11, 2009).
The corrected release reads:
AMBITIOUS "NEW TIMES: NEW GUILD" WEB SERIES TO LAUNCH MONDAY JAN. 11
A week-long series of special reports – "New Times: New Guild" – starts Monday, Jan. 11, 2010, on the award-winning Web site of the California Media Workers Guild, Local 39521 of The Newspaper Guild-Communications Workers of America.
As newsrooms shrink at many cash-strapped media organizations, pundits are pronouncing the end of traditional print sources of quality journalism. The 1,800-member Media Workers Guild has responded by taking on the hard work of optimism, exploring new economic models and pioneering projects to sustain quality jobs and quality journalism.
Introducing the series, Michael Cabanatuan, a San Francisco Chronicle reporter who serves as the Guild's local president and a national Guild board member, wrote: "Instead of hunkering down with our hands over our heads, we're trying to become more efficient and effective, to provide training and assistance to our current and former members, to organize freelancers (including many of our laid-off members), and to help build the future of news."
"We hope to kick-start a larger conversation on the future direction and forms of journalism," said Carl Hall, a science writer and staff representative for the Media Workers, who originated and directed the series along with editor Steve Stallone. "Journalism is too important to democracy to be left to media moguls, advertisers and bloggers."
The series explores:
- Creation of the nation's first Guild Freelance Unit, giving non-staff journalists a chance to become full-fledged union members. A freelance press credential, new web presence (GuildFreelancers.org) and regular programs have been created. Group benefits including a health care option are being set up. The organizing is backed by a national grant from the Berger Marks Foundation in Washington, D.C.
- How the Media Workers Guild partnered with philanthropist/investor F. Warren Hellman to create the nonprofit Bay Area News Project, which will soon announce its first hires. Organizers want to help pioneer a creative, democratic workforce that combines the talent of staff, freelancers and journalism students.
- Formation of the Bay Area Media Training Consortium, a collaboration that includes the Media Workers Guild, Bay Area Video Coalition, UC Berkeley, NOVA (a job training and workforce development agency based in the Silicon Valley city of Sunnyvale), Spot.us (the emerging new media company), and the internet networking company Cisco Systems. We hope the Bay Area News Project also will play a role. The consortium has applied for a $4.6 million economic-stimulus grant through the U.S. Department of Labor to upgrade the skills of up to 700 media workers.
- A mobilizing project that helped the Guild win recognition and a first contract at the Bay Area News Group-East Bay – and has expanded to a statewide campaign backed by the CWA.
- A broad effort by the Media Workers to diversify our membership, which includes the 800-member California Federation of Interpreters, our single biggest unit. The unit includes interpreters in Spanish, Chinese, Hmong and many other languages spoken in the court system statewide.
- A Guild-backed collaboration of linguists, journalists and interpreters is working on ways to help newsrooms overcome language barriers. A pilot project has been started at the Fresno Bee with the cooperation of the Guild and Bee management.
The series also includes a look ahead at what promises to be a critical negotiating year for Guild members at the Chronicle, San Jose Mercury News, McClatchy, Bay City News and other properties.
"We invite all media workers and others concerned about the future of journalism to read about what we are trying to do, share it with their friends and colleagues, and join us in a dialog about how we revive and renew our industry," Hall said.
Series contributors along with Cabanatuan, Stallone and Hall include: Doug Cuthbertson, the Guild's Executive Officer; organizers Sara Steffens and Rebecca Rosen Lum, both former writers at the Contra Costa Times; and former San Jose Guild rep Luther Jackson of NOVA. Photography was contributed by David Bacon, Greg Urquiaga and Mike Kepka. Graphics were contributed by Jessica Levant. Web production and layout were done by Guild staffer Russ Cain.
Contacts:
California Media Workers Guild
Carl Hall, 415-421-6833
chall@mediaworkers.org