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The Objective

@objectivejournalism

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A nonprofit newsroom examining power and inequity in journalism to hold the industry accountable. Our work is made by humans, not generative AI.
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UPDATE: We are no longer taking pitches for this series, but welcome related story pitches! They will be reviewed on a rolling basis. 📣 We want your work! Swipe through for more info. TLDR: We’re paying $0.50/word; as a newsroom with a limited budget, we pay per initially agreed-upon word count. The magazine will come out in fall 2026 and we’re looking for primarily reported news stories between 800-1,200 words. We are especially interested in commissioning stories from reporters of marginalized backgrounds, and organizers who are adjacent to and have been affected by journalism in the communities they’re in. Creating a physical record of newsrooms’ efforts to meaningfully address anti-Blackness and systemic harms ensures this history won’t be forgotten. The full pitch call is at the link in our bio and at tinyurl.com/since2020pitch. (Note: We are a small newsroom with one full-time staffer, so we are unable to respond to all pitches directly. Please wait at least two weeks before following up.) 📸: Three 2020 headlines from Washington Post, NPR, and the LA Times, one 2025 dek from Nieman Lab. Three headline screenshots from 2020: Washington Post: Ignited by public protests, American newsrooms are having their reckoning NPR: 'New York Times', 'Washington Post' Promise Major Changes To Move Forward On Race LA Times: The Times Editorial Board: An examination of The Times' failures on race, our apology and a path forward We want your pitches for our upcoming print magazine: Since 2020. One article screenshot from 2025: Nieman Lab: Diversity-related newsroom jobs haven't totally disappeared — but they also haven't stuck Pitch us: The Objective by @objectivejournalism
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5 months ago
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Should shareholders be able to determine what’s “accurate” in news? The state of Florida’s board of administration is arguing “Yes” in court. Last week, Truthout (@truthout) republished a story by Florida Phoenix (@floridaphoenix.news) reporting on a new suit from the Florida State Board of Administration (and conservative think tank National Center for Public Policy Research), alleging that the New York Times’ reporting is biased against Israel and that coverage of Israeli military actions in Gaza would “harm shareholder value for the state’s agencies and public sector retirees.” The one article cited in the suit is an opinion column. Also in this week’s headline round-up: Major broadcasters unite in solidarity with CNN and Politico reporters being banned from the White House press pool and The Guardian (@guardian_US) covers the efforts of independent newsrooms like Documented (@documented.ny) and El Timpano (@eltimpano_bayarea). For more about who gets to make the news and what gets considered newsworthy, subscribe to our weekly newsletter, The Front Page, at the link in our bio. Should shareholders be able to determine what’s “accurate” in news? The state of Florida’s board of administration is arguing “Yes” in court. Last week, Truthout (@truthout) republished a story by Florida Phoenix (@floridaphoenix.news) reporting on a new suit from the Florida State Board of Administration (and conservative think tank National Center for Public Policy Research), alleging that the New York Times’ reporting is biased against Israel and that coverage of Israeli military actions in Gaza would “harm shareholder value for the state’s agencies and public sector retirees.” The one article cited in the suit is an opinion column. Should shareholders be able to determine what’s “accurate” in news? The state of Florida’s board of administration is arguing “Yes” in court. Last week, Truthout (@truthout) republished a story by Florida Phoenix (@floridaphoenix.news) reporting on a new suit from the Florida State Board of Administration (and conservative think tank National Center for Public Policy Research), alleging that the New York Times’ reporting is biased against Isr Lead text slide. Header text: The NYT is actually too anti-Israel and it's bad for shareholders, according to a new suit from Florida In the background: A faded photo of the New York Times' office. Subhead reads: Every headline has a backstory. Read about last week’s here... by @objectivejournalism
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3 days ago
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It's not your fault you're broke. Over the past year, the National Writers Union-Freelance Solidarity Project (@fsp_nwu) team has been analyzing the data they've collected since the project's Rate Sharing Database began in 2020. Twenty-six years ago, the National Writers Union (@thenationalwritersunion) advocated for a $1/word pay rate. If that rate matched today's inflation, the average writer should be making around $2/word. But the survey data shows they're not, write NWU-FSP members jen byers and Elena Novak: Since 2020, the average reported pay rate has hovered around $1/word, and stagnant wages mean that freelance writers are functionally making less money now than they were 26 years ago. While the survey data has some caveats, trans and Hispanic freelancers — whose communities have been under particular attack from the current administration — make, respectively, $0.38/word and $0.34/word on average. Swipe to read more and read the full commentary at the link in our bio. ✍️: jen byers and Elena Novak 📸: Illustration by @colleentie courtesy of @fsu_nwp; background by James Salanga. Title slide: An illustration of a brown-skinned fem person with shoulder-length black hair holding up a magnifying glass to loosely-sketched outlines of people holding up varying rates. The magnifying glass shows $800. The illustration is on a red background with diagonal stripes made up of $20 bills. Commentary from The Objective: Freelance journalism rates are worse than you think. They've barely changed since 2000. by @objectivejournalism
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4 days ago
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Incarcerated journalists are best positioned to shine transparency on prisons and jails, especially because prison media access is piecemeal across states. But they worry a potential Federal Communications Commission policy to jam cellphones could cut off their line of reporting. An effort to ban contraband cellphones in prison is currently being considered by the FCC, which closed public comment on the proposal in January. Free press advocates must rally against this policy, writes Jimmy Iakovos, an incarcerated journalist based in Georgia. Meanwhile, he writes, journalists on the inside continue exposing the lack of prison condition improvement from behind the walls of Georgia’s judicial industry warehouses. "Their mightier-than-the-sword pens are the smartphones that have proliferated in the absence of correctional officers. Outstanding editors and social media prison advocates are their points of contact." Read the full commentary at the link in our bio. ✍️: Jimmy Iakovos 📸: Collage by James Salanga. Background of confiscated phones by the Mississippi Department of Corrections; edited photo of the Baldwin State Prison in Georgia via Wikimedia Commons; edited photo of a phone via Pexels; screenshot of FCC headline on a release about a proposal to limit certain cellphone signals in prisons. Title slide. Commentary from The Objective: Potential FCC cellphone jamming policy could silence incarcerated journalists A collage of four elements. The background is a photo of confiscated cellphones from incarcerated people. There's also an image of a blurred phone with a red filter over, powered off, a choppy-cropped and lavender-filtered photo of Georgia State Prison, and a screenshot of a headline that reads FCC Takes Aim at Contraband Cellphones in State and Local Prisons by @objectivejournalism
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7 days ago
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While the latest McClatchy layoffs (from Sept. 11) reduced capacity for coverage in Spanish, the publisher continues to invest in generative AI experiments. Straight Arrow News (@straightarrownews) reported on the “Content Innovation Lab” at McClatchy that started last week, driving more AI-generated content to readers — at the same time that McClatchy cut positions vital to producing news in Spanish: The last remaining reporter for Central California’s longest-running bilingual newspaper, Vida en el Valle (@vidaenelvalle), along with the entire writing staff of El Nuevo Herald (@elnuevoherald) in Miami and the only Spanish-speaking reporter on the Tri-City Herald. McClatchy is laying off at least 90 people, per @thenewsguild, which represents around 300 workers at McClatchy. Keep swiping for more in this week’s headline round-up: equalpride’s board member Jay Katari resigns after independent journalist Kevin Ortega-Rojas (@hereswhykevin) reported on social media posts where Katari wore a MAGA hat and editorial staff at the publisher’s publications, including @them and @theadvocatemag, pushed back. And a study released about the state of science journalism from @theconversationdotcom. For more about who gets to make the news and what gets considered newsworthy, subscribe to our weekly newsletter, The Front Page, at the link in our bio. While the latest McClatchy layoffs (from Sept. 11) reduced capacity for coverage in Spanish, the publisher continues to invest in generative AI experiments. Straight Arrow News (@straightarrownews) reported on the “Content Innovation Lab” at McClatchy that started last week, driving more AI-generated content to readers — at the same time that McClatchy cut positions vital to producing news in Spanish: The last remaining reporter for Central California’s longest-running bilingual newspaper, Vida en el Valle (@vidaenelvalle), along with the entire writing staff of El Nuevo Herald (@elnuevoherald) in Miami and the only Spanish-speaking reporter on the Tri-City Herald. McClatchy is laying off at least 90 people, per @thenewsguild, which represents around 300 workers at McClatchy. While the latest McClatchy layoffs (from Sept. 11 Lead text slide. Header text: Week after McClatchy gutted union jobs, publisher pilots AI-driven “Content Innovation Lab” To the right, a picture of a laptop with a shattered screen. Subhead reads: Every headline has a backstory. Read about last week’s here... by @objectivejournalism
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11 days ago
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The cuts reduce Spanish reporting in California's Central Valley, Miami-Dade, and eastern Washington. @thenewsguild, which represents around 300 workers at McClatchy, said those affected by the layoffs include the last remaining reporter for Central California’s longest-running bilingual newspaper, @vidaenelvalle, along with the entire writing staff of @elnuevoherald in Miami and the only Spanish-speaking reporter on the @tricityherald. McClatchy is laying off at least 90 people. “I’m heartbroken,” said the founder of Vida en el Valle, Juan Esparza Loera (@jesparzaloera). 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. Reporters are still looking for answers from McClatchy about the layoffs, which did not respond to requests for comment from The Objective. Put another way: “Did they just throw a dart at a person?” @pacificnorthwestnewspaperguild treasurer Cameron Probert said. Read the full story at the link in our bio. CORRECTION: Carmen Graciela Díaz’s name is incorrectly spelled on the last two slides. The Objective regrets the error. ✍️: James Salanga 📸: Screenshots of a prior cover of Vida en el Valle and the website of El Nuevo Herald, accessed via the @internetarchive Wayback Machine. Title slide. Collage with two screenshots, an e-edition cover of Vida en el Valle and the old website of El Nuevo Herald, positioned atop a screenshot of ads in an e-edition of Vida en el Valle. News story from The Objective: McClatchy layoffs cause "end of an era" for some Spanish-language papers. by @objectivejournalism
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14 days ago
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Last week, you might’ve missed news about California’s longest-running bilingual newspaper: It’s losing full-time staff. @missionlocal reported on El Tecolote’s loss of institutional knowledge and experience in local communities after 7 of the paper’s 8 full-time staffers left this year. The reasons for the departures depend on who you ask: leadership at the nonprofit that owns the newspaper says they are natural employee churn, while former employees told Mission Local that mismanagement and editorial interference played a role. Diminishing capacity to produce Spanish-speaking news is increasingly important as immigration raids continue under the Trump administration and major corporations face pressure to erase diverse histories. For more analysis and news that makes the news, subscribe to The Front Page at the link in bio. Last week, you might’ve missed news about California’s longest-running bilingual newspaper: It’s losing full-time staff. @missionlocal reported on El Tecolote’s loss of institutional knowledge and experience in local communities after 7 of the paper’s 8 full-time staffers left this year. The reasons for the departures depend on who you ask: leadership at the nonprofit that owns the newspaper says they are natural employee churn, while former employees told Mission Local that mismanagement and editorial interference played a role. Diminishing capacity to produce Spanish-speaking news is increasingly important as immigration raids continue under the Trump administration and major corporations face pressure to erase diverse histories. For more analysis and news that makes the news, subscribe to The Front Page at the link in bio. News organizations and artificial intelligence companies continue to grapple with questions about content licensing. Namely: Does scraping a news article to train an LLM count as “free use”? Does it necessarily “transform” the work, offering a different utility than the original intent of the copyright holder? “Certainly,” says the Trump administration. “Now wait just a minute,” says the New York Times. The Times, and other smaller news publishers, argue that if OpenAI wants to use their content to train L Title slide. Text over the skyline of a sunny San Fransisco reads: El Tecolote, California's longest-running bilingual newspaper, lost 7 of 8 full-time staff this year. Every headline has a backstory. Read more about last week’s here… by @objectivejournalism
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17 days ago
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The voices shaping the stories we read last week: The Trump administration is using a new (old) tactic to subpoena journalists, some union news from Forbes, CBS News continues to tilt to the right, and the birth of Buffet Magazine (@buffetlives). If you’re looking for more details about these stories (and our analysis of them) sign up for The Front Page at the link in bio, or swipe. After the Wall Street Journal unapologetically published an AI-generated op-ed last week, Nieman Lab (@niemanlab) checked in with opinion editors across local newspapers about their policy for opinion pieces partially or wholly created by generative AI. Across the board, while not all those who commented had a policy, editors said their priority is for human-written work and would not want to publish AI-generated op-eds. After the Wall Street Journal unapologetically published an AI-generated op-ed last week, Nieman Lab (@niemanlab) checked in with opinion editors across local newspapers about their policy for opinion pieces partially or wholly created by generative AI. Across the board, while not all those who commented had a policy, editors said their priority is for human-written work and would not want to publish AI-generated op-eds. We really can’t improve on it, so The Objective is reprinting Tom Ley’s @defectormedia headline in its entirety: “Seattle Times Dipshit Quits Because His Editors Were Smart Enough To Spike His Stupid Columns.” A Seattle Times columnist was initially going to write about a protest in support of anti-trans athlete Sophie Cunningham, but instead wrote an article on his own views on trans people in sports, and reprinted it on his Substack, along with noting this wasn’t his first column that was spiked: others included a column on whether or not the U.S. Women’s soccer team “were really the victims of discrimination in their equal-pay lawsuit” and cancel culture as a whole. From Ley’s perspective: “Quitting in a huff over these columns being spiked? Brother, you should have been bringing your editors muffins every day for how well they were covering for you.” Some union news: Forbes journalists (@forbesunion) won their first contract! It necessita Text slide. In large, bold letters it reads: The Wall Street Journal will continue to publish AI writing. Other U.S. regional newspapers are trying to keep it off their front page. A smaller subhead reads: Every headline has a backstory. Read about last week’s here... by @objectivejournalism
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24 days ago
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The voices shaping the stories we read last week: The Objective covered the Trans News Network call for a boycott of the New York Times. For more stories and analysis subscribe to The Front Page at our link in bio. In the newsletter, we also feature stories from our feeds that made us think about "objectivity" in journalism: @fansplaining @'ed the NYT over the uncredited inspiration from the @kaytiburt feature article; arbitration ruled in favor of @karenattiah, a Washington Post columnist, who was fired earlier this year over commentary on the Charlie Kirk killing; A billionaire remains cringe. Text over a pixelated image of the Archive of Our Own homepage. Text reads: "New York Times caught lifting from small outlet reporter (again) Every headline has a backstory. Read about last week’s here..." by @objectivejournalism
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a month ago
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“No excuses, no exceptions ... This boycott will no longer be necessary when the NYT stops pushing genocide [of trans people]." Worker-owned, trans-led newsroom Trans News Network (@transnews.network) is calling for a public boycott of the New York Times and its associated products. The effort joins a second active boycott campaign against the New York Times, called by Writers Against the War on Gaza (@wawog_now) in February 2024 over the paper's role in being “not only complicit in, but accountable for, the slaughter of Gaza.” In recent years, accountability publications Media Matters (@mediamattersforamerica) and Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (@fairmediawatch) have published analyses critiquing transgender coverage from the Times, with FAIR also covering the effect of Times policies against using "genocide" and "ethnic cleansing" in its reporting on Palestine. Investigative outlet Mother Jones (@motherjonesmag) found anti-trans bills continually cited the outlet’s reporting on trans people — echoed in the U.S. v. Skrmetti decision last year, in which Times articles were cited 29 times in favor of the state’s argument for limiting youth gender-affirming care. Read the full story at the link in our bio. ✍️: @charliebettymedia 📸: Photo of the New York Times office via Ajay Suresh; X vector via Clipart Craft and edits by James Salanga. A red duotone filter is layered over a photo of the New York Times office. An X in a gradient with the colors of the trans flag is atop the New York Times sign. News from The Objective: Trans News Network calls boycott of New York Times over paper’s coverage of trans people by @objectivejournalism
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a month ago
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California governors have vetoed eight bills on prison media access over the past 27 years. "I think they don't want the public to become more empathetic of people once they hear the stories," said Steven Brooks, an incarcerated journalist working out of California's San Quentin Rehabilitation Center. Governor Gavin Newsom is the latest to shoot down a bill, SB 254, that would have streamlined access for outside press and outlawed retaliation for incarcerated people who worked with the media. Like former governors Jerry Brown and Arnold Schwarznegger, he gave the excuse that the bill would create or elevate celebrity status of some incarcerated people. But Brooks says that people in prison may get that status regardless. He and other advocates, including SB 254 proponents @facoalition, @initiatejustice, the California Newspaper Publishers Association, and @antirecidivismcoalition, say incarcerated people already face strict retaliation for sharing conditions in prisons, from losing access to commissary or phone calls. As a result of current California policies, Lee Gibson, the community advocacy manager for Initiate Justice's inside organizing program, described the information coming out of prisons as “a void” and said he feels like information from the CDCR is only freely given in two cases: when there's some type of violence that is happening inside, or if there's some types of programs that CDCR has claimed to have initiated that puts them in a good light. “There is a lack of information about how things are being done or conducted, or even when there's claims of abuse or misappropriations of funds,” Gibson said. Read the full story at the link in our bio. ✍️: @victoriaaaaa.val / @victoriavalenzuela.reports 📸: Collage by James Salanga. Collage by James Salanga. Elements include a photo of San Quentin Rehabilitation Center (formerly known as San Quentin State Prison) via Wikimedia Commons, screenshots of California prison media access bills from 1999 and 2005, and articles about Arnold Schwarznegger (photo via Wikimedia Commons), Jerry Brown, and Gavin Newsom vetoing prison media access bills. by @objectivejournalism
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a month ago
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The voices shaping the stories we read last week: The Objective covered how the withdrawal of U.S. investment in international reporting also means a disappearing path to sustainability for international reporters. For more stories and analysis subscribe to The Front Page at our link in bio. In the newsletter, we also feature stories from our feeds that made us think about "objectivity" in journalism: The @nabjofficial "Thumbs Down" awards by @capitalb_atl (and how difficult it is to call out people in community), the Disney v. FCC suit, and lopsided coverage of the death of a Black professor in the UK as discussed by @ibramxk in @the_emancipator. The National Association of Black Journalists handed out a record five “Thumbs Down” awards this summer Emoji: A Black person's hand making the thumbs-down gesture Every headline has a backstory. Read about last week’s here... by @objectivejournalism
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a month ago
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