Worker-Owned Newspapers & The Quest for Progressive Media

There's a lot of talk among progressives about the rise of the right-wing, corporate-controlled media, and howw progressives need our own media. Well, something seems to be brewing that, if it happened, could take us one huge step closer to that reality.

Here's the excerpt from the San Jose Mercury News:

"A labor union representing workers at nine Knight Ridder newspapers announced Thursday that it was trying to put together an employee-backed bid for the nine papers. The Newspaper Guild-Communications Workers of America has retained two advisory firms -- Duff & Phelps, a Chicago-based investment bank, and Ownership Associates, a Cambridge, Mass.-based consulting firm -- to pursue the possibility of a buyout of the papers. According to Newspaper Guild President Linda Foley, the union has been in contact with 'worker friendly' private equity funds that were possibly interested in backing a bid."

This could be a hugely significant accomplishment, if successful. It has been decades since unions (aka. actual workers) had any sort of control over any major media. There are already some major obstacles to the union's efforts, but it is quite an intriguing idea. Stay tuned.

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