The Objective

It’s healthy for student journalists to raise concerns about AI Generative AI isn’t a real solution to the issues facing newsrooms. Student journalists are right to point that out.

"Newsrooms seeking to build trust ... should be encouraging critical reflection on generative AI rather than putting down students hesitant to welcome it with open arms — especially when data shows readers aren’t sold on the technology’s promise." -@eksbainbridge.bsky.social.

'All journalism advocates': Anita Varma on solidarity journalism Anita Varma on her forthcoming book, Solidarity in Journalism, the limits of the advocacy vs. journalism conversation, and more.

Solidarity reporting is more truthful about issues placing people’s basic dignity at stake than “objective” reporting that defers to those who don’t know the lived truth of what’s at hand, @anitavarma.bsky.social says in a Q&A about her upcoming book.

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Fort Worth Report could become Texas’s sixth unionized newsroom The Fort Worth Reporters Guild will vote on unionization next week after management decided not to voluntarily recognize the union.

Update on a story from last week: Fort Worth Report is now Texas's sixth unionized newsroom and second in Tarrant County after eligible staff voted 11-1 to unionize as the Fort Worth Reporters Guild.

It’s healthy for student journalists to raise concerns about AI Generative AI isn’t a real solution to the issues facing newsrooms. Student journalists are right to point that out.

"Newsrooms seeking to build trust ... should be encouraging critical reflection on generative AI rather than putting down students hesitant to welcome it with open arms — especially when data shows readers aren’t sold on the technology’s promise." -@eksbainbridge.bsky.social.

“Management is constantly telling us to work harder, take on new responsibilities, and give up our rights,” @baltsunguild.bsky.social told The Objective, “so to see our hard work suddenly replaced by incoherent slop one day is just extra demeaning.”

Baltimore Sun turns to generative AI for political analyses The Baltimore Sun ”once again disparaged … human reporters and their work", the newspaper’s union said.

ICYMI — @madisyn-writes.bsky.social on the latest front in the @baltsunguild.bsky.social labor battle:

Baltimore Sun turns to generative AI for political analyses The Baltimore Sun ”once again disparaged … human reporters and their work", the newspaper’s union said.

The Baltimore Sun’s AI usage is an extension of a power struggle that’s been brewing inside the nearly 200-year-old paper’s newsroom since it was acquired by JTF Publications back in 2024.

@madisyn-writes.bsky.social reports: objectivejournalism.org/2026/02/when...

Reckoning with the Federal Communications Commission’s history of structural racism Since the agency’s inception, FCC policies have undermined the 14th Amendment rights of Black people and Black communities.

Since the agency's inception, FCC policies have undermined Black communities.

@josephtorr.bsky.social explains how the FCC plays a critical factor for those fighting for racial justice and against Trump's authoritarianism regime via @objectivejournos.bsky.social:

Journalist's Resource downsizes After “several funders did not renew their grants," the Harvard-based hub helping make academia accessible to reporters cut two positions.

Last year, The Journalist's Resource published 80 tip sheets across topics from immigration and higher education to sports betting and preserving federal data.

Washington Post lays off race and ethnicity reporters The Washington Post says it will concentrate on “areas that demonstrate authority” — with a national reporting desk that is now overwhelmingly white.

"I think one worries about the pipeline. It’s not just Black journalists, now young journalists, diverse journalists don’t see a place for themselves at these papers.” —@karenattiah.bsky.social last October

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How disaster reporting hit home for two Appalachian journalists after Helene We can make vital, but potentially traumatizing disaster reporting better by treating disaster survivors — and ourselves — with more humanity.

Two @blueridgepublic.bsky.social reporters reflect on how their Hurricane Helene experience shaped their standards and practice for disaster reporting.

Washington Post lays off race and ethnicity reporters The Washington Post says it will concentrate on “areas that demonstrate authority” — with a national reporting desk that is now overwhelmingly white.

When the race and ethnicity reporting positions were created in 2020, then-CEO and publisher Fred Ryan said the Washington Post intended "to use our powerful platform to address issues of race in this historic moment and over the long-term.”

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National, local news ignores trans people amid 2025's anti-trans attacks Newsrooms' failure to substantively cover anti-trans legislation have compounded over the first year of Trump's second term in office.

@erininthemorning.com: “Sometimes these [mainstream] outlets have this sort of institutional skepticism ... but whenever it applies to transgender people ... it’s almost like they don’t believe that something is happening to us until it actually happens.”

objectivejournalism.org/2026/02/nati...

In the wake of defunding public media, rural radio holds steadfast With the dissolution of the Corporation of Public Broadcasting — a 60-year support system — tribal-serving radio stations face a steep climb towards community self-sufficiency head-on.

“Part of the narrative is that this isn’t about NPR. This is about impact to local and rural stations and their ability to serve their regions apart from NPR programming," said Tami Graham of @ksutpublicradio.bsky.social.

In the wake of defunding public media, rural radio holds steadfast With the dissolution of the Corporation of Public Broadcasting — a 60-year support system — tribal-serving radio stations face a steep climb towards community self-sufficiency head-on.

The defunding of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting represents one front in broader actions from the Trump administration targeting media and diversity programs across the country.

National, local news ignores trans people amid 2025's anti-trans attacks Newsrooms' failure to substantively cover anti-trans legislation have compounded over the first year of Trump's second term in office.

"“If you don’t include trans people, then we never get to seriously interrogate who gets protected in our society and who doesn’t," @trevellanderson.bsky.social, executive director of @transjournalists.org told @transitics.substack.com.

As ICE agents flood Minnesota, local reporters say national news misses the mark Recent New York Times reporting isn’t the first time national journalists haven’t captured the full scope of Minnesota’s local stories.

“Local journalists have been really annoyed with all the outsider journalists coming in,” said @southwestvoices.bsky.social editor-in-chief Melody Hoffmann. “I just think they’re getting the vibe wrong, especially if they weren’t here for 2020.”

J-school faculty grapple with covering Palestine and genocide U.S. journalism professors have taken a variety of approaches to teaching about covering Palestine, including not doing so at all.

Was honored to talk to @objectivejournos.bsky.social about dealing with Palestine as a journalism faculty member objectivejournalism.org/2026/01/jour...

J-school faculty grapple with covering Palestine and genocide U.S. journalism professors have taken a variety of approaches to teaching about covering Palestine, including not doing so at all.

"The schools are not grounded in values … they’re grounded in PR. They're grounded in being quiet about things that are deemed to be too controversial, and that doesn’t work for journalism.” — @thrasherxy.bsky.social

objectivejournalism.org/2026/01/jour...

J-school faculty grapple with covering Palestine and genocide U.S. journalism professors have taken a variety of approaches to teaching about covering Palestine, including not doing so at all.

@thrasherxy.bsky.social pointed to the utility of learning journalism outside of the university, highlighting programs like @citybureau.bsky.social's Documenters, @karenattiah.bsky.social's Resistance Summer School, and @lewispants.bsky.social's books.

objectivejournalism.org/2026/01/jour...

J-school faculty grapple with covering Palestine and genocide U.S. journalism professors have taken a variety of approaches to teaching about covering Palestine, including not doing so at all.

ICYMI: Our latest story reported by @aaronstigile.bsky.social looks at how U.S. journalism faculty are discussing Palestine and genocide in their classes. (Spoiler alert: Many are not — or not willing to share on the record.)
objectivejournalism.org/2026/01/jour...

The Objective on Instagram: "For our last 2025 post, we wanted to share the graphic notes from our Trans Media Convening panels 🏳️⚧️ Note-taking by @inkyantics, with alt text for the full recordings... 51 likes, 0 comments - objectivejournalism on December 31, 2025: "For our last 2025 post, we wanted to share the graphic notes from our Trans Media Convening panels 🏳️⚧️ Note-taking by @inkyantics, ...

Repost from @objectivejournos.bsky.social’s IG: “For our last 2025 post, we wanted to share the graphic notes from our Trans Media Convening panels 🏳️⚧️…” www.instagram.com/p/DS83anjEdX...

J-school faculty grapple with covering Palestine and genocide U.S. journalism professors have taken a variety of approaches to teaching about covering Palestine, including not doing so at all.

“Ironically, the failing to name what is now obvious to so many speaks to the fact of genocide: The first step towards genocide is denying the humanity of the targeted group," Dr. Gregory Khalil told @aaronstigile.bsky.social for The Objective's latest.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is closing After a historic three-year strike, staffers at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette returned to work in late November. Now, the 239-year-old paper is shuttering.

less than six months after striking workers at @pghguild.com ended their historic strike with a labor victory, their paper — the pittsburgh post-gazette — is closing. story for @objectivejournos.bsky.social here: objectivejournalism.org/2026/01/the-...

It’s a new year, but our mission remains the same: advancing the practice of movement journalism. @lewispants.bsky.social penned a series for @objectivejournos.bsky.social on eight ways movement journalism creates liberatory change @ bit.ly/transformingnarratives. 📸: Wikimedia Commons/James Salanga

I read @objectivejournos.bsky.social to understand what's really going on in the media industry and how that affects how we talk about reality.

I've just given to their year-end fundraiser, and I encourage you to join me: like @thexylom.com, all donations are matched dollar-for-dollar up to $1,000!

The Objective x News Futures Magazine In a new collaboration between The Objective and News Futures, 14 practitioners share their perspectives on building local, participatory, and durable information systems for the next decade.

🗞️✨As our Civic Media Series concludes, we’re grateful to our collaborators, authors, and readers for bringing this project to life. Now, look ahead with us. Support journalism that challenges power and serves communities. 👇

objectivejournalism.org/civic-media-...

#CivicMedia #MediaSky

From reckoning to retreat: Journalism’s DEI efforts are in decline Diversity-related newsroom jobs haven't totally disappeared — but they also haven't stuck.

I spent Trump's first term covering Latinos in NYC, interning in CDMX reporting on corruption and impunity, and covering marginalized communities in a very conservative Texas county.

This story — about journalism itself — was still the hardest one to report.

www.niemanlab.org/2025/09/from...

The Objective's favorite media reporting and criticism of 2025 A non-comprehensive list of The Objective’s co-directors and readers’ picks for media coverage and commentary this year.

I'm so honored that my friends at @objectivejournos.bsky.social named my story about journalism's retreat from DEI as one of their favorite pieces of media criticism this year.

Every story on this list is worth your time:

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