The New York Sun Lifts Paywall as Strike at the New York Times Leaves Election Coverage in the Balance

The New York Sun removed its paywall for 48 hours, beginning at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, the Sun’s chief revenue officer, Ben Friedmann, has announced. With the New York Times facing potential website disruptions on their election coverage, “We’re doing our part to ensure there’s no risk to the American public’s access to timely reporting on the election,” Mr. Friedmann stated in a press release. “There are times when we’re called upon to put our responsibility as an essential organ of American democracy above all else. Today is one of those days.” Mr. Friedmann cautioned that reading the Sun “might expose Times readers to editorials presenting ideas which they may not often encounter at the Times.” The Times Tech Guild, which represents the New York Times’ technology staff, has been on strike since Monday morning, following a two-year long contract battle with the outlet’s management. Without the help of key data analysts, the Times’ signature election forecasting model, known as the “Needle,” might not be up and running by Tuesday night, the Times reports. The model relies on computer systems maintained by the paper’s analytics technology team, many of whom are on strike. The union — which includes over 600 software developers, data analysts, and other tech workers — has been fighting with management for two years to secure a union contract that would “ensure we have the resources we need to continue doing our jobs well,” the group notes on its website, listing specific contract stipulations such as job security, fair pay, and diversity equity and inclusion.Though according to a report from Semafor, the Guild’s demands have also included “scented products in break rooms, unlimited sick time, and accommodations for pet bereavement, as well as mandatory trigger warnings in company meetings discussing events in the news.” Semafor reports that the Times demurred on these requests. Back in September, the Guild polled its members over their willingness to stage a strike during the election, and 95 percent of its members ultimately voted in favor. “We gave @nytimes management months of notice of our strike deadline, we made ourselves available around the clock, but the company has decided that our members aren’t worth enough to agree to a fair contract and stop committing unfair labor practices,” the Guild wrote in a post on X early Monday morning. Times management engaged in negotiations with the Guild on Sunday night, but was unable to produce a mutually agreed upon contract. The two groups clashed over the inclusion of a “just cause” provision, pay increases and pay equity and return-to-office policies, the Times reports. Since Monday morning, the group’s members have been stationed outside of the Times’s headquarters in midtown Manhattan. They are also urging the public to refrain from using any of the Times’ signature games, like Wordle, out of solidarity. A GoFundMe fundraiser that was set up by the Guild in the beginning of October has already raised over $100,000 dollars — nearly 75 percent of the way to their $150,000 goal. “As we head into the final weeks of this Election season, we want the New York Times to hear us: We are ready to do whatever it takes to get to a fair deal,” the Guild wrote in the fundraiser. The maximally inconvenient timing of the strike has evidently irked the Times’ management. In a note sent to staff on Monday, the Times’ publisher, A. G. Sulzberger, said that he found it “troubling that the Tech Guild would try to block this public service at such a consequential moment for our country.”“Hundreds of you have worked with care and diligence for months — in many cases, years — to provide our fellow citizens with the most trustworthy reporting and results to navigate this fiercely contested election and its aftermath,” Mr. Sulzberger added. “I am sorry that this action by the Tech Guild was designed to put all of this work at risk. We did not need to reach this point.”

The New York Sun Lifts Paywall as Strike at the New York Times Leaves Election Coverage in the Balance

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