#Gannett strike

[whatbigotspost]

Tons of Gannett journalists are striking across the country today (6/5/23)—highly relevant to folks like me living in Austin, where our local paper is a Gannett publication. There’s no “democracy” without a free and open media and journalists are critical to that effort.

Solidarity forever!

[kenttsterling]

Breshad Perriman signs with Colts, but hold the celebration! TJD works out for Pacers! Gannett journalists walk out!

[journalismjpg]

“it’s the most labor unrest the American journalism industry has experienced in decades”

[one-divides-into-two]

“For the last four years, Gannett has abandoned its commitment to the community. Hundreds of jobs have been lost and countless stories have been left untold. Many newspapers are still printing with only one or two reporters. Some don't have a single journalist on staff.

Since 2019, this strategy has been orchestrated by Gannett CEO Mike Reed. And it's long since time he was kicked to the curb.

On June 5, unionized journalists from 12 newsrooms in the Northeast are joining their Gannett colleagues from across the country and walking off the job in protest of Reed's woeful mismanagement. We're calling on shareholders to do what should have been done a long time ago: Cast a vote of no confidence in Mike Reed and get him as far away from our community news organizations as possible.

This walkout affects each of us greatly. We are working two or three jobs just to make ends meet. We're relying on family assistance to pay the bills. We're applying for subsidized housing and food stamps and using the same social safety nets that we report on as part of our job.

But we're willing to do whatever it takes -- even putting our livelihoods on the line -- to get rid of Mike Reed and push this company to reinvest in its newsrooms.

Every dollar raised in this fundraiser will go towards reimbursing striking journalists.

Solidarity forever.”

Hey! My union is walking out on Monday as part of a national action against our employers at Gannett, the largest newspaper chain in the country. Please consider donating to our strike support fund or circulating!

[dweemeister]

My Father’s Dragon (2022)

Kilkenny, Ireland-based Cartoon Saloon has now released its last two films in collaboration with companies more interested in maintaining their streaming services than granting a significant theatrical release. Wolfwalkers (2020), a production alongside Apple TV+, was an excellent addition to the studio’s Irish folklore triptych, and understandably few theaters showed it due to COVID-19 pandemic closures. Nora Twomey’s My Father’s Dragon is a Netflix feature, and this is her first directorial effort since The Breadwinner (2017). With a similarly nominal theatrical release, My Father’s Dragon also represents another departure from all of Cartoon Saloon’s feature films thus far: it is specifically for a younger audience. I dislike the prevalent conflation of animated filmmaking as children’s entertainment (whether by those who write about films or filmmakers themselves), but this is an adaptation of Ruth Stiles Gannett’s book of the same name (itself a runner-up for the Newbery Medal, which honors American children’s literature).

My Father’s Dragon is visually striking, although it contains some of Cartoon Saloon’s most simplistic character design yet. But what makes this the studio’s most prosaic work yet are its tonal inconsistencies, noticeably modern sense of humor, and a conventional resolution to the central drama.

Elmer Elevator (Jacob Tremblay) and mother Dela (Golshifteh Farahani) move to a big city when their small-town candy store forecloses in difficult economic times. Money is short, and a distant Dela spends much of her time looking for stable work in order to help open a new store. Soon, Elmer encounters a talking cat (Whoopi Goldberg), who suggests that he might travel to faraway Wild Island to kidnap the lone dragon that lives there, and use the dragon for entertainment and exhibition purposes. With help from Soda the Whale (Judy Greer) and Saiwa the Gorilla (Ian McShane), Elmer travels to Wild Island and tracks down the dragon. The situation on Wild Island is more perilous than first impressions suggest, as Elmer befriends the young and immature dragon, Boris (Gaten Matarazzo) in order to address the situation.

All the animals on Wild Island are anything but nightmare-inducing, so younger viewers will probably be remarking how cute or cool the primates (Chris O’Dowd and Jackie Earle Haley), the rhino (Dianne Wiest), the crocodile (Alan Cumming), and the tigers (Leighton Meester and Spence Moore II) appear.

We do not see much of Dela after the opening minutes of the film, but her and Elmer’s character designs are a development from what viewers saw in The Breadwinner as opposed to Cartoon Saloon’s Irish folklore triptych. The oval faces and oftentimes half crescent/quasi-crescent eyes of the two human characters (and, strangely enough, Boris) in My Father’s Dragon are not quite enough to evoke responses that seem emotional enough for the moment. Acting teachers will say – and this is true for animated characters as well – that emotion typically precipitates an action (not the inverse of this). The degree of that action is up to the actor or, in this case, the animator. Too often, the human and the animal characters – in moments of distress, peril, and relief – are too still when expressing themselves. Frowns, tears, and anguished shouting convey only so much; through bodily movement and facial expressions do films, animated or otherwise, provoke an emotional response from a viewer. Twomey’s animators closely replicate Boris from how he appeared in Gannett’s book. But in that replication, they produce an inelastic character design that lends humor and a sense of fun, but largely incapable of handling pathos – which invariably harms the film’s closing act.

Gannett’s My Father’s Dragon lies somewhere between a picture book for the youngest children and a chapter book for students in the middle of primary school. At just over eighty pages, it is an abbreviated plot that sees Elmer encounter the dragon only in the final ten pages. The episodic nature of Gannett’s book makes the book difficult to adapt for screenwriter Meg LeFauve (2015’s Inside Out and The Good Dinosaur). LeFauve elects to understandably introduce Boris much earlier in the narrative and to introduce a catastrophic crisis to Wild Island that frames most of Elmer’s time there. Without spoiling much, such a calamity is nowhere to be found in Gannett’s original work, and one detects the influence of the interchangeable, humanity-threatening stakes from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Was this sense of world-ending danger necessary? If one is targeting the audience that would also read My Father’s Dragon, the film’s climax is much too intense for them. Gannett’s book is defined by episodic, child-friendly peril from the animals (i.e., hungry carnivores that have peculiar quirks and can be reasoned with) and not existential stakes. Converting My Father’s Dragon away from an episodic narrative might be the primary narrative concern for most, but the counter to this is that LeFauve’s adapted screenplay dispenses with Gannett’s gentle wit that can delight those of any age.

Thus, Nora Twomey’s My Father’s Dragon can be a clamorous work that shows none of the patience – for its characters and viewers – of any of Cartoon Saloon’s previous work. Despite some impressive backgrounds (the most polished ever seen in the studio’s work) and wonderful color palette, no amount of visual mastery can cover up a screenplay that is trying too much to draw out laughs from Boris’ emotional immaturity. This writing tactic – in which modern screenwriters attempt to placate supposedly gratification-hungry viewers with one garrulous punchline-spewing character – is something I associate with the major American animation studios.

Another characteristic of My Father’s Dragon that seems more characteristic to its mainstream American peers is the presence of an all-star voice cast that does little to no modification of their typical vocal inflections while recording for the film. It is distracting to hear Whoopi Goldberg, Dianne Wiest, Rita Moreno (as the Elevators’ landlord), and Matarazzo (who essentially plays a character not too far removed from his character of Dustin in Stranger Things) acquit themselves in this manner. Too little thought has gone into how can they best voice their characters, given their characters’ appearances and the situations of the moment. Are these developments – the hyperactive and comedy-seeking writing, merely adequate voice acting, and declarations about courage and the Power of Friendship – indicative of Netflix’s influence over Cartoon Saloon’s approach to this adaptation of My Father’s Dragon? Or is it a sign of things to come for the Irish studio?

Whatever the case, this is a disappointing fifth effort from Cartoon Saloon over the last thirteen years. Given the standards of their previous work, the studio deserves mercy from further barbs from yours truly. The missteps seen in My Father’s Dragon pale in comparison to some of the work that the likes of Disney, DreamWorks, and especially Illumination have offered in recent years, The tenor of Cartoon Saloon’s upcoming work appears, at least for the new future, to be similar to that seen in My Father’s Dragon. Up next for the studio is a feature film treatment for their children’s television series Puffin Rock (on Netflix in the U.S.) and Louise Bagnall’s directorial feature debut in Julián (adapted from the picture book Julián is a Mermaid by Jessica Love; Bagnall previously directed the Academy Award-nominated short film Late Afternoon for Cartoon Saloon).

As for Nora Twomey – one of the co-founders of Cartoon Saloon alongside Tomm Moore and Paul Young – she remains a figure in animated cinema to keep an eye out for. The co-director for The Secret of Kells (2009) and sole director on The Breadwinner has shown her ability to guide projects along with emotionally and thematically nuanced narratives and stunning visual splendor. And though My Father’s Dragon represents the first miscue on the former element, Cartoon Saloon’s animation remains a visual balm in an industry that, at least among those that financially dominate animated filmmaking, is as far away from hand-drawn work as it ever has been.

My rating: 6.5/10

^ Based on my personal imdb rating. My interpretation of that ratings system can be found in the “Ratings system” page on my blog (as of July 1, 2020, tumblr is not permitting certain posts with links to appear on tag pages, so I cannot provide the URL). Half-points are always rounded down.

For more of my reviews tagged “My Movie Odyssey”, check out the tag of the same name on my blog.

[dankusner]

False labeling, misreads anonymous bylines...

A1 story said the city of Austin "was expected to make arguments in court Tuesday" on confidential police files, *which was true when the story was pubbed online April 3.*

But the hearing was canceled on Friday, which our striking reporter learned that day.

He wasn’t told the story would run Monday.

Falsely labeling network reporters as staff writers:

Our B1 story on Sunday gave “Austin American-Statesman” bylines to two reporters for the @Tennessean.

This misleads readers into thinking Austin-based journalists were behind the content

The Austin American-Statesman's usual bylines were noticeably absent from coverage during the eclipse, the CMT Music Awards and Cap10K.

The local newspaper's journalists return to work today after a four-day strike as contract negotiations with owner Gannett stall.

Another Gannett newsroom, the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, also timed a strike with the eclipse.

Why it matters: It's the latest maneuver by the Austin NewsGuild, which represents Statesman journalists, to push for a higher wage floor in their contract with Gannett.

Statesman journalists had been gearing up for coverage of the historic solar event — a moment that would usually bring around-the-clock coverage, photos and a collectible front page.

What they're saying: Gannett "has consistently slow-walked negotiations and offered a series of bad-faith proposals," the Austin NewsGuild said in a press release last week.

In response to the strike, Gannett posted temporary Austin-based jobs on its site.

Between the lines: Gannett has seen its fair share of union protests in the past few years amid efforts to consolidate in the wake of its 2019 merger with GateHouse, writes Axios' Sara Fischer.

Last year, hundreds of Gannett journalists across two dozen local newspapers, including in Austin, went on strike during the company's annual shareholder meeting to protest job cuts. Gannett has cut roughly half of its workforce since the GateHouse merger.

The other side: "I think the Guild, unfortunately, plays dirty and lies to our employees," Gannett CEO Michael Reed told Axios at the annual Mather Symposium on media in Atlanta last month.

In response to his comments, NewsGuild-CWA president Jon Schleuss said in a statement to Axios: "Gannett's last SEC filing showed Mike Reed making 66 times that of a median employee, while paying journalists poverty wages, cutting an average of 2,800 jobs a year and hiring lawyers to stonewall workers at the bargaining table."

[infinitemonkeytheory]

The cognitive dissonance required to strike such a strip from publication proves the importance of the information Trudeau was trying to communicate as the hypocrisy of the conservative media continues to demonstrate that there is no greater enemy to their agenda than an informed populace

[noisynutcrusade]

Media Insider: Licht out at CNN, Gannett writers strike, LA Times announces cuts

Welcome to Media Insider, PR Newswire’s roundup of media news stories from the week.  CNN CEO Chris Licht is leaving his post after a little more than a year at the helm after losing the support of staff and enacting a series of chaotic editorial changes under the direction of parent company Warner Bros. Discovery. In his place, a team of three executives will run CNN’s editorial operations for…

[cavenewstimes]

Second day of Los Angeles school workers strike AP Domestic on March 22, 2023 at 1:16 PM

Los Angeles school workers started picketing early Wednesday, their second day of a three-day strike against the Los Angeles Unified School District. (March 22)        Los Angeles school workers started picketing early Wednesday, their second day of a three-day strike against the Los Angeles Unified School District. (March 22)       Read More  GANNETT Syndication Service 

[bigmacdaddio]

Print media and the NY Times...

“This winter is shaping up to be a frosty one for everyone in the media as the economy teeters on the edge of a recession. On Monday, Bob Iger said he isn’t lifting Disney’s hiring freeze. On Tuesday, James Dolan sent a memo to his employees at AMC Networks about a coming ‘large-scale layoff.’ On Wednesday, Chris Licht cut the cord on more CNN employees, and there were layoffs at CBS Studios, too. That same day, Sally Buzbee killed the Washington Post’s Sunday magazine, citing ‘economic headwinds.’ On Thursday, there were cuts at Gannett. Penguin Random House is expected to have layoffs in January, and the HarperCollins strike is getting ugly.”

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/12/the-new-york-times-newsroom-gets-ready-to-walk-out.html?fbclid=IwAR1VEI5bUndxNtc2QvSpEQCayDxu2D9xYH8j3FNv9GQELgP_71DalDNWetw

[sanjosenewshq]

Los Gatos faculty districts settle one citizenship abuse case and go to trial in one other

The Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union Excessive College District has agreed to pay $3.485 million to a former scholar athlete for sexual assault she stated she endured for greater than three years, in a settlement introduced this week. Starting in 1999, the plaintiff within the case, recognized as scholar “Jane Doe,” accused Los Gatos Excessive College’s assistant observe coach Chiyuki Robinson of grooming her to just accept his sexual strikes when she was 14 years previous. In a separate lawsuit, introduced by the mother and father of two alleged sexual abuse victims to longtime youth theater director and elementary faculty instructor Joseph Brian Hogg, the Los Gatos Union Elementary College District is being directed to trial within the Santa Clara County Superior Court docket on November 7, the identical day it’ll start It is Robinson’s legal trial. Hogg didn’t attraction 10 legal fees of kid molestation and was sentenced in December to 35 years in jail. The plaintiffs are represented in each circumstances by the San Jose legislation agency, Corsiglia McMahon and Allard. Both approach, attorneys say, the 2 Los Gatos faculty districts have ignored scholar complaints for years. “This tragedy ought to by no means have occurred,” stated Lauren Siri, the legal professional for the previous scholar at Los Gatos Excessive College. “One other younger feminine athlete on the observe testified that she instructed coach Willie Harmatz in 1998 that she was uncomfortable round Robinson,” she stated. The woman’s complaints fell on deaf ears. All Harmatz did in response was telling the woman to run on the opposite aspect of the observe away from the place Robinson was coaching the women’ observe staff.” In late 1999, the woman’s mom discovered a uncared for being pregnant take a look at in her trash, together with a love letter from Robinson. Highschool officers together with Principal Trudy McCulloch and coach Willie Harmatz have been knowledgeable. When one other scholar revealed that she witnessed Robinson’s abuse [the girl]Harmatz went to the woman’s home and threatened to spoil her athletic profession if she did not cease “mendacity” about Robinson, in keeping with the oath from the scholar. “Harmatz ought to have taken steps to guard this scholar, however as an alternative he coated up the brewing scandal.” Robinson was by no means disciplined. He was dismissed in March 2001. “Even after the opposite college students instructed the college that they noticed Robinson kiss and have intercourse with me, the college allowed him to proceed coaching,” the woman stated. “They cared extra concerning the observe staff profitable than defending the scholars.” The abuse sufferer participated within the junior Olympics and broke all data within the excessive soar for her age group. By the point she was 11 years previous, Jane was the second finest excessive jumper within the state. Siri stated the woman’s desires of turning into an Olympian have been shattered by the abuse that the college district had enabled. Though Jane Doe’s sexual assault occurred within the late Nineteen Nineties, she was capable of sue Los Gatos Saratoga Union Excessive College for Meeting Invoice 218, which prolonged California’s Restrictions Act and permits for the prosecution of older sexual assault allegations by way of December. 2022. “The window for these points is closing,” Siri stated. “It’s crucial that victims of sexual assault come ahead now.” Three a long time of expertise in journalism, as a author and editor at Gannett, Knight-Ridder and Lee newspapers, as editor and writer of Enterprise Journal and as weekly editor at Scotts Valley and Gilroy newspapers; With Weeklys Publishing since 2017. Recipient of a number of writing and editorial awards, California Information Publishers Affiliation. Originally published at San Jose News HQ

[thesecrettimes]

Funko Plans to Launch Jay and Silent Bob NFT Collection via the Digital Collectibles Platform Droppp

Three months ago, Funko Inc., disclosed that it was entering the non-fungible token (NFT) industry when it announced it acquired a majority ownership stake in the NFT startup Tokenwave. At the time, Funko’s CEO Brian Mariotti explained that “Funko Pop digital NFTs” have the potential to be a “game-changer.” On Friday, Funko announced the company is launching a new NFT collection featuring Jay and Silent Bob from the filmmaker Kevin Smith’s Clerks films.

Funko to Introduce Jay and Silent Bob Non-Fungible Tokens and Corresponding Physical Versions

The cult classic characters from the Clerks movies, Jay and Silent Bob, will be showcased in a new non-fungible token (NFT) collection released by the publicly-listed pop-culture consumer products firm Funko (Nasdaq: FNKO). Jay and Silent Bob are best known for appearing in the Clerks films, but they also appear in all of Kevin Smith’s Askewniverse movies. The duo also star in their own films “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back,” “Jay & Silent Bob’s Super Groovy Cartoon Movie,” and “Jay and Silent Bob Reboot.” Funko announced the Jay and Silent Bob NFT collection on Friday via Twitter and Facebook and noted that the collection will drop on Tuesday, July 26, 2022. “Jay and Silent Bob x Funko Series 1 Digital Pop! coming soon to Droppp,” Funko tweeted. The website digital.funko.com gives a bit more information on the upcoming Jay and Silent Bob NFT compilation. According to the site, Funko is releasing Jay and Silent Bob digital collectibles, but also physical versions of the Jay and Silent Bob Funko Pop characters will be created as well.

Funko’s Digital Pop NFTs Join Dozens of Well Known Brands Issuing Digital Collectible Products

Prior to announcing the Jay and Silent Bob NFTs, Funko has teamed up with well known brands like DC Comics and Warner Bros. Funko Digital Pop non-fungible tokens are similar to the products Funko sells in stores as they feature Funko’s distinctive style. The Funko Digital Pop Jay and Silent Bob NFTs will be made available via the NFT platform Droppp. While the NFTs will stem from the Droppp platform, Funko digital collectibles are issued on the Wax blockchain network. In addition to the NFTs, Funko will be showcasing “an immersive, fan-focused community experience” at the San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) from July 21 to July 24, 2022. Funko’s new blockchain-based digital products join a slew of well known brands that have entered the NFT and metaverse industry during the last few years. Brands that have participated in the NFT space so far include Topps, Adidas, Arizona Iced Tea, Gannett, McDonald’s, Budweiser, Fanatics, WWE, Bicycle, Warner Bros., Pepsi, Nike, Coca-Cola, Rolling Stone, DeLorean Motor Company (DMC), and Marvel. Despite the brand recognition and celebrities entering the fray, NFT sales are down 49% this month lower than the 30 days prior, according to cryptoslam.io statistics on July 15. What do you think about Funko introducing Jay and Silent Bob NFTs? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. Read the full article

[almanci]

So what if the founders of evolutionary biology were eugenicists? Does this mean that biology isforever connected to itsroots and doomed to play out its eugenic scripts? Yes, I believe it does, unless biologists deal with this history rather than choosing to ignore it entirely. I have come to realize that while I innocently gazed at a field of morning glories, this history shaped what I saw and the questions I asked. Why this variation? Why so many colored flowers? While my biological education revealed particular answers, I now realize why and how I framed them in this way. It is worthwhile to ask: Why am I asking these questions and not others? Why have these two perspectives remained so compelling? The binary scripts of good and bad variation are tied to a long history of a binary politics of eugenics where scientists wrestled with the ideal vision of a good society—should it be one with homogeneous brilliance or heterogeneous diversity? It isthese two positionsthatshaped my vision of the morning glory field, my seeing of flower color variation as a problem, and consequently my designing experimentsto ask whether variation was maintained or eroded by the actions of natural selection. One of the striking aspects of this history is how overtly political and ideological some of the founders were. The inability of evolutionary biology to resolve this debate may be a consequence of mixing politics with science, but I think not. While some scientists continue to be engaged in using scientific knowledge toward political ends, the norm is to reassert claims to political neutrality. While the sciences go through periodswhere politics are visible and periods when it is never overtly discussed (Paul and Spencer 1995), I would argue that by not recognizing that the originary formulation of the field was so grounded in human differences we are doomed to revisit the same questions unless or until we engage these groundings. While evolutionary biology after the horrors of the holocaust was more careful about the use of “race” in the post–World War II era, it is clear that marking “race” as a category endures today. For instance, in recent years the FDA approved its first “ethnic” drug (Kahn 2005, Fullwiley 2007, D. Roberts 2008). As Lisa Gannett reminds us, ideas about biological“race” have been recoded in the terminology of population thinking (2001). The ideological commitments remain but are expressed in a new vocabulary. While this history is seldom addressed in the training of evolutionary biologists, the history and foundational political debates are nonetheless deeply embedded in the theory and methods of biology. It is this history we need to unearth, revisit, confront, and silence

— Ghost Stories for Darwin by Banu Subramaniam

[architectnews]

SOM reveals plan to add curving glass canopy to Chicago metro station

Global architecture firm Skidmore, Owings and Merril has unveiled its redesign for the State/Lake Station in downtown Chicago.

Skidmore, Owings and Merril (SOM) is working with construction engineers TranSystems to revamp the station on Chicago's elevated train line, which is nicknamed the L.

The station redesign includes a glass canopy

The project is being undertaken by the City of Chicago, Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) and Chicago Transit Authority (CTA).

State/Lake Station is Chicago's second busiest stop on the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) network, serving six of the city's eight train lines.

The revamped station will have multiple elevators to street level

SOM's plans include a large undulating glass canopy that will cover the platforms and the new fly-over connection bridge that will be built over the road.

The canopy, which will be made from fritted glass to prevent bird strikes, will protect passengers from the elements as they board and disembark from the trains.

SOM said that the design of the canopy will reference important pieces of architecture in the city, including the John Hancock Center and the Willis Tower, two skyscrapers in Chicago also designed by the firm.

Elevators connecting the bridge to street level will make the station more accessible to users. The lifts will connect to a new bridge clad in glass and metal that will be built at the western end of the station.

A new flyover bridge will also improve access

Train platforms will be made wider and the pavements will also be widened at street level to make the station safer for passengers transiting to pedestrian or bus routes through the city.

The design of the State/Lake Station will also preserve sightlines of the nearby Chicago Theatre and other buildings along State Street.

Platforms will be made wider for improved safety

"The new State/Lake station will be a gateway to downtown for Chicagoans and visitors alike," said SOM design partner Scott Duncan.

"As one of the most visible stations in the CTA network, the design is reflective of both its location and the needs of riders, with a soaring glass canopy, comfortable spaces for passengers, and fully integrated accessible design for riders of all mobility levels."

The station will have views of the nearby theatre

Founded in 1939, SOM has offices all around the world. Recent transit projects from the practice include the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Train Hall in New York and a pair of concourse terminals for the major Chicago O'Hare Airport expansion.

Project credits:

Architect: SOM Construction engineer: TranSystems Clients: City of Chicago, Chicago Department of Transportation, Chicago Transit Authority Local consultant team: HDR, GSG Consultants, Ardmore Roderick, Garza Karhoff Engineering, Legacy Rail Operations, Rider Levett Bucknall, Milhouse Engineering, site design group, Gannett Fleming, Facet Engineering, American Surveying, Metro Strategies

The post SOM reveals plan to add curving glass canopy to Chicago metro station appeared first on Dezeen.

[noisynutcrusade]

Gannett journalists across the U.S. will strike on June 5

On Monday, June 5, Gannett, the country’s largest newspaper chain, will hold its annual shareholders meeting — and “hundreds” of Gannett union journalists across the U.S. will walk off the job, the NewsGuild–CWA said Thursday. Most Gannett journalists are not unionized, and most Gannett newspapers will not be striking. Gannett owns around 200 papers, and NewsGuild said two dozen of them are going…