“The First Casualty of War is the Truth!”

On May 4, UNESCO and the UN Department of Public Information (DPI) commemorated World Press Freedom Day at UN Headquarters in New York. The theme was “Critical Minds for Critical Times: Media’s Role in Advancing Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies.” There were two high-level panels and the audience included the diplomatic community, NGOs and journalism […]

NWU Hosts PEN America

On May 10, NWU and Creatives in Action (CIA) co-hosted Suzanne Nossel, Executive Director of PEN America, who spoke about “Defending Our Democracy in the Trump Era.”  This was the first time NWU has partnered with CIA and the third time we have participated with PEN America in the last six month. Previously we spoke out in […]

Statement in Support of Freedom of the Press

NWU is proud to stand with more than 90 allied organizations in issuing this Statement in Support of Freedom of the Press. “In the First Amendment the Founding Fathers gave the free press the protection it must have to fulfill its essential role in our democracy. The press was to serve the governed, not the […]

NWU at Women’s March on Washington

About 50 members of the National Writers Union and our friends and family rose before dawn on January 21. We put on our pussy hats—or reasonable facsimile thereof—and climb aboard a fleet of UAW buses that formed a caravan from New York City down to the Women’s March on Washington. We demonstrated in support of […]

Preparing for Trump’s Attacks on the Press

NWU is working more closely with other writers’ groups to develop a strategy to combat the Trump Administration’s hostility towards a free press and the public’s right to know. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer’s opening press briefing, where he attacked the media and took no questions, and Kellyanne Conway’s theory of “Alternative Facts” are […]

NWU Defends Journalists Worldwide

We’ve recently reported on, and denounced, threats of vigilante violence and criminal prosecution against US journalists for doing their jobs. With the President-elect openly encouraging supporters to attack journalists at campaign rallies, we fear attacks on journalists who cover controversial topics in the US will escalate. While we speak out against attacks on US journalists, […]

We Stand With The Arizona Republic

When I was growing up in Arizona, it was rare to see my home state hit the national news. One of the first times I saw it happen was in the Summer of 1976, when Don Bolles, a reporter for the Arizona Republic, was killed by a bomb planted in his car. He was killed […]

Anti-Muslim Profiling Near Trump Tower

At the New York City Labor Day Parade on September 10, one of our members, Ekim Kilic, a young Turkish national, approached someone who appeared to him to be a Union Marshal, and asked where he could find the National Writers Union group. The person told Ekim that the UAW/NWU contingent had already passed. The […]

Cool Kids Rock Netroots 2016

All the cool kids attended the recent Netroots Nation 2016 in St. Louis. It was the perfect place to be trans, a reproductive rights advocate, pushing the climate change conversation, advancing a pro-labor agenda, or leading a march through the streets of the city chanting “Black Lives Matter!” So, of course, the National Writers Union […]

World Press Freedom Day at the UN

The National Writers Union (NWU), International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Communications Coordination Committee for the United Nations (CCCUN) and Metro NY Labor Communications Council (MNYLCC) organized a panel discussion May 3 for World Press Freedom Day. Held at the United Nations in New York City, the event explored the media’s role in supporting human rights […]