Latest news
New publisher, same problem at SJ-R
May 2, 2016
The churn continues at the State Journal-Register. Salespersons come and go. So do reporters, frustrated by the eternal wage freeze invoked by GateHouse Media. Notable departures include Jamie Munks, Maggie Menderski, Dan Petrella, Tobias Wall and Molly Beck. And this...
Labor Tribune ratifies new contract
April 29, 2016
The United Media Guild finalized its new collective bargaining agreement with the Labor Tribune, adding to its list of settlements in recent months. The contract featured 3 percent raises this year and next year for the Labor Tribune's one full-time...
Not since David slew Goliath . . .
April 5, 2016
On January 28, Rockford Register Star Copy Editor Paula Buckner was discharged for "rude and disrespectful" comments to coworkers. Buckner, who worked at the paper for 22 years, had the temerity to comment on how the newly formatted obits looked...
Press Club to hold “Trump Effect” panel discussion
April 5, 2016
United Media Guild member Aisha Sultan, a columnist at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, will moderate a Press Club panel discussion on "The Trump Effect" at noon, April 28 at the Pasta House in University City, at 8213 Delmar. Joining her...
January 30, 2016
Three ballots were distributed at last night's contract ratification vote in Springfield, IL. Two dealt with how parts of the contract - should it be ratified - would unfold. The first set of options was to determine how the bargaining...
lifted from the Illinois Times. . .
January 30, 2016
Friday, Jan. 29, 2016 09:28 pm Shove it SJ-R newsroom rejects contract By Bruce Rushton Newsroom employees at the State Journal-Register tonight rejected a final contract offer from GateHouse Media, the company that owns Springfield’s daily newspaper. The vote was...
UMG honors journalism, activists at Local Meeting
January 29, 2016
The United Media Guild honored journalist Michele Munz and several of its activists at a Local Meeting Thursday night in St. Louis. Munz won the Terry Hughes Award for her distinctive reporting and writing for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. A...
GateHouse Media’s utter disregard for quality journalism
January 10, 2016
It's never good news when New Media Investment Group, the parent company of GateHouse Media, buys your newspaper. Wholesale newsroom cuts and outsourcing come next, as we have seen at five UMG-represented newspapers: The Peoria Journal-Star, State Journal-Register of Springfield,...