The Objective

Examining systems of power and inequity in journalism. Sign up for our free newsletter:

[The Objective @ObjectiveJrn]

If you have a story you haven't been able to find a home for that covers marginalized journalists and audiences in American newsrooms, please pitch us! @studyhallxyz @WritersofColor https://t.co/y1dM6J5Zqb

[The Objective @ObjectiveJrn]

In the year of 2026, who is funding feminism?

@yonoella covers the independent media outlets — from @readlux to @theflytrapmedia — betting that readers for feminist cultural critique and reporting want to help it persist for our Since 2020 series.

https://t.co/siZzT6L0xx

[The Objective @ObjectiveJrn]

Continuing a standard of coverage that ignores the history of Islamophobia and its intersections with racism and xenophobia carries real safety risks for Muslim community members, including candidates for elected office.
https://t.co/SxSCJYlPP3

[tanvi @Tanvim]

Really important work by my fellow @FSP_NWU members and @ObjectiveJrn —>

https://t.co/WtO53ggBE5

[The Objective @ObjectiveJrn]

The decision comes after six years of conflict between the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s former management, Block Communications Inc., and their workers after the Post-Gazette illegally discarded the collectively-bargained union contract. https://t.co/mnaqY2sQ65

[The Objective @ObjectiveJrn]

“A lot of us really thought [when] COVID [hit, it] was going to be that crisis that put things into perspective for us ... you’ve just seen how quickly that’s backtracked and reversed.” -@yessfun

https://t.co/XIBfYKcWBh

[The Objective @ObjectiveJrn]

For the latest in our Since 2020 series, @AdamLMahoney covered who gets left behind as commitments to cover climate are reneged and whether diversifying the beat was a temporary project.

https://t.co/XIBfYKcWBh

[The Objective @ObjectiveJrn]

Twenty-six years ago, @paythewriter advocated for a $1/word pay rate. But if that $1/word rate from 2000 matched today’s inflation, the average writer should be making about $2/word.

According to @FSP_NWU, they aren’t.

https://t.co/0g8QP1Y2d6

[The Objective @ObjectiveJrn]

How much do you think freelance journalists make per word? The latest analysis of the @paythewriter @FSP_NWU Rate Sharing Database found steep discrepancies.

https://t.co/0g8QP1Xuny

[The Objective @ObjectiveJrn]

"If a $1/word rate matched today’s inflation, the average writer should be making about $2/word. But — according to our data — they aren’t."

@FSP_NWU members jen byers and Elena Novak analyze data from the project's Rate Sharing Database.

https://t.co/hD1NPglrsq

[The Objective @ObjectiveJrn]

As journalists from major newsrooms are pushed out of reporting on the White House, incarcerated journalists send up a similar cry to free press advocates: Push back on a developing FCC policy that could silence reporting on the inside. https://t.co/gyrXB5NSlP

[The Objective @ObjectiveJrn]

“We can’t tell if this is metrics-based, if this is pay-based … did they just throw a dart at a person?” said Cameron Probert, treasurer for the @PacNWGuild. “None of us think that this is a good idea.”

https://t.co/uoAFXfkq79

[The Objective @ObjectiveJrn]

“I’m heartbroken,” said the founder of Vida en el Valle, Juan Esparza Loera. Loera was the paper’s editor from its founding in 1990 until he was laid off last year in November, and called the cuts “the death” of the paper.

https://t.co/uoAFXfkq79

[The Objective @ObjectiveJrn]

California incarcerates the second-most people — almost 90,000 — in state prisons across the U.S., but still lags behind other states in media access. @Victoriaevalenz covers the ongoing struggle for more transparent news coverage of the state's prisons.

https://t.co/cIjO61dNKv

[The Objective @ObjectiveJrn]

@Victoriaevalenz covers California governors' long history of vetoing prison media access bills.

"We're trying to do things better, and we're not going to be able to do things better if we can't face the truth."

https://t.co/w2l2UMrmuC

[The Objective @ObjectiveJrn]

“When major international outlets reduce their presence or cut budgets, there are fewer commissioning opportunities for freelancers.”

https://t.co/FeI5t6e0Lj

[The Objective @ObjectiveJrn]

As Donald Trump wins more attention from news media, one loser has often been international reporting. Freelancers say non-stop news coverage about his every action has meant less attention, space, and pages for coverage about other important issues.
https://t.co/tPNbsrXSIU

[The Objective @ObjectiveJrn]

ICYMI: @shruti_rajkumar spoke with several disabled journalists who reflected on how the advent of COVID-19 has changed reporting norms on disability and broader newsroom culture.

https://t.co/GBzaoFbVmO

[The Objective @ObjectiveJrn]

"There is a lot of specialized knowledge, experience, and technical skill sitting dormant due to financial barriers preventing people from doing this work and lack of places willing to publish [disability stories].”

https://t.co/GBzaoFbVmO

[The Objective @ObjectiveJrn]

“Somebody is going to say, ‘Why am I talking to you? Why are you doing this story? I can't talk to you, because what happens if this winds up in Palantir?’ And that should not be the job of a reporter to answer for.”

https://t.co/XYn8Z3OQH6

[The Objective @ObjectiveJrn]

Six years after the onset of COVID-19, how has newsroom culture and coverage on disability changed? @shruti_rajkumar spoke to disabled journalists about what's new and what's stayed the same.

https://t.co/HM4kQegTTW