Stop the Rejection. Self Publish!

The Boston Chapter’s recent workshop, Stop the Rejection – Self Publish, was a great success, drawing both members and non-members. Independent publishing allows you to be in full control of your writing and ensures that your book’s concept, content and cover are not altered by commercial interests. The pilot project allowed participants from around the […]

A Year of Living Dangerously

In many ways, the past year has been a test for all of us and for our union. May 25 marked the one-year anniversary of the police killing of George Floyd and the anti-racist uprising that followed. The past year also featured the US Presidential election and the fascist storming of the US Capitol. It […]

Journalists Say No to SB 98 Amendment Requiring Police Permission to Cover Protests

We, the undersigned organizations, which collectively represent thousands of California journalists, strongly oppose a recent amendment made to SB 98, a bill originally intended to protect journalists covering protests, demonstrations and civil unrest. This amendment may actually restrict existing press freedoms rather than expand them, turning this bill on its head and into something that […]

The Capitol Riot

After the Presidential election last November, we ran a piece, “The War Is Not Over.” On January 6, a racist mob, urged on by Trump & Co., attacked the US Capitol building and assaulted media workers covering the riot. Journalists outside the Capitol were threatened and surrounded, equipment destroyed and stolen. “Murder the media” was […]

BEYOND THE BARS

The NWUSO (Workers Write) sponsors a series of ongoing writing classes for a range of groups to amplify unheard voices. A year ago NWUSO–—the non-profit arm of the National Writers Union (NWU)—began an ongoing writing workshop with Beyond the Bars. It’s an 11-year-old program started by Cheryl Wilkerson and Kathy Boudin at the Columbia School of Social Work, and […]

Free Julian Assange!

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s extradition hearing is currently taking place in London. He has been behind bars in a British prison in the east of London since April 2019, and was initially held in solitary confinement. Assange is a member of the IFJ Australian affiliate MEAA and holds an IFJ press card. He is being charged […]

Cincinnati Police Attempt to Silence Freelance Journalist

A Cincinnati police officer is suing four defendants for libel. One is NWU member Julie Niesen.  They are being sued for calling out Officer Ryan Olthaus on social media for flashing the OK sign at a black woman attending a City Council hearing during the BLM protests. That hand-sign has been adopted by the white supremacist […]

Staten Island Goddamn!

Staten Island, a plantation Paddyrollers at every station  They ordered the Freedman show a pass Or he’d join his ancestors under the grass  Freedman raised his hands to show no threat Hisses and rattles, he’s trapped in the net  Staten Island Goddamn! A blue boa’s grasp A grunt, a gasp A beast choke A strangled […]

Celebrating Frederick Douglass Day

This year on Friday July 3, 2020 we presented Frederick Douglass Day — An Alternative Fourth of July Celebration via Zoom, gathering Frederick Douglass speech readers, Lissa Tyler Renaud, Kim McMillon, and Robert Cuffy— from NYC to Oakland. We also featured “live” music over Zoom from saxophonist Richard Howell in the SF Bay Area, and bassist Hilliard Greene in NYC.  We first presented our […]

Journalists Are Not Police Informants!

On July 24, a Seattle judge ruled that journalists from The Seattle Times and four cable news outlets must turn over previously unreleased photos and videos to the Seattle Police Department (SPD). The police are demanding 90 minutes’ worth of material gathered from a protest on May 30, following the racist police murders of George […]