The United Media Guild

Fighting for journalism and the public good

Latest news

Lee Enterprises saved $10 million with layoffs, furloughs and pay cuts this quarter

Lee Enterprises, parent company of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and The Southern Illinoisan, saved $10 million during the current quarter through layoffs, furloughs and pay cuts. The company also cut capital expenditures by more than 25 percent. Due to the...

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UMG raises journalism concerns at Gannett shareholders meeting

The United Media Guild raised concerns about the state of journalism in Gannett during the company’s annual shareholders meeting Monday morning. The event, held virtually due to the ongoing pandemic, was the first since the GateHouse-Gannett merger. On behalf of...

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State Journal-Register journalists successfully challenge early deadlines for print edition

Across  the country, newspapers are moving deadlines from late evening to late afternoon as part of the ongoing consolidation of printing, page design and copy-editing functions. Such move-ups prevent journalists from getting night news (meetings, sports events, crime, fires) in...

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Peoria Journal Star takes a stand on ethics, Gannett responds

The Guild fights every day for the craft of journalism, which is under attack from all angles – including newspaper managers. Another example came from Peoria Journal Star columnist Phil Luciano, the UMG unit chair at the newspaper. He wrote...

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Navigating the Missouri unemployment system during a furlough

United Media Guild VP David Carson has gone through the unemployment compensation process for his first furlough week. Here is the link to the site. Here is David's summary: STEP ONE I just filed for my first week of unemployment...

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Filing unemployment claims during a furlough

  Filing for unemployment in Missouri and Illinois can be done online in fairly straightforward process. A member to who filed in Illinois said it was pretty easy. The Missouri on-line application also does a nice job of guiding you...

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Post-Dispatch unit members approve furlough agreement

United Media Guild members at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch approved an agreement with Lee Enterprises on the terms of two furlough weeks over the next three months. The UMG had two conference calls Thursday to explain the situation and held...

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Lee Enterprises offers no-layoff protection during furlough period

The United Media Guild reached a tentative agreement with Lee Enterprises on the parameters of the looming furlough at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. This will be subject to membership approval -- and we'll have more about that process soon. The...

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