FSP hosts a mix of public and members-only programs, panel discussions, happy hours, and other events to encourage knowledge sharing and solidarity within the freelance labor community. Below is a selection of recent programs and panels—check out our public calendar, or subscribe to our email list to be kept in the loop about upcoming opportunities!
☆ Ongoing ☆ FSP Labor Film Club
Monthly Twitch screenings of labor films, often with introductions by freelance film critics. Recent screenings have included Sierra Pettengill’s RIOTSVILLE USA, Stewart Bird & Deborah Shaffer’s THE WOBBLIES, and Rosa von Praunheim’s I AM MY OWN WOMAN. Subscribe to our email list to receive next month’s invitation.
Worker Power, Worker Owners: An Introduction to Worker-Owned Media Cooperatives (June 2024)
The media industry is in crisis; are worker-owned cooperatives a way out, and where do unions fit in? This event was co-hosted by the National Writers Union’s Freelance Solidarity Project, the Writers Guild of America East, the Democracy at Work Institute, and the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies. Video available here.
Behind Enemy Lines: Incarcerated Journalists’ Fight for Press Freedom (May 2024)
On “World Press Freedom Day,” formerly and currently incarcerated journalists Christopher Blackwell, C. Dreams, Juan Moreno Haines, and Rahsaan Thomas gathered for a discussion about the limits of first amendment rights, moderated by FSP-NWU member-organizer and criminal justice reporter Khawla Nakua. This event was co-hosted by the National Writers Union’s Freelance Solidarity Project, Prism Reports, Solitary Watch, and Empowerment Avenue. Video available here.
Journalism Futures (April 2024)
In a time of mass layoffs, publications closures, and threats to democratic free press, it’s more important than ever to get organized. On April 9, 2024, Brandi Collins-Dexter, Matt Pearce and Victor Pickard joined the National Writers Union – Freelance Solidarity Project for a panel discussion about the present and future of the media industry. The panelists considered how we got here —the structural problems and bad actors that brought us to this point of crisis — and what we do next to build a better, more equitable, and more sustainable industry. FSP-NWU’s Kate Harloe moderated the discussion. Video available here.
No Such Thing as a “Union Boss” (June 2023)
Strikes are big news right now. Movie and television writers are sticking to their pickets, the Screen Actors Guild voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike, and a strike may be on the horizon for more than 350,000 UPS workers, the largest potential work stoppage in US history. So why is so much media coverage of strikes still so bad? In this virtual panel, labor journalists Maximillian Alvarez, Braden Campbell, Sarah Jaffe, and Kim Kelly shed light on common failures of uninformed and anti-worker labor reporting. Video available here.
Reporting From Occupied Territory (October 2022)
The murder of Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh by Israeli forces while she was reporting from the occupied West Bank highlighted the extraordinary dangers Palestinian journalists face. According to Reporters Without Borders, from 2018 to 2022, Israeli forces attacked more than 140 Palestinian journalists with bullets, tear gas, or other weapons. From 2000 to 2022, more than 30 Palestinian journalists had been killed. (Since the bombardment of Gaza beginning in October 2023, the numbers are much higher.) Still, Palestinian journalists — many of them freelancers — continue working to tell the stories of the Israeli occupation, the global networks that sustain it, and the multidimensional truths of Palestinian life. On October 18, 2022, journalists Lara Aburamadan, Dalia Hatuqa, and Ahmad Al-Bazz gathered for a discussion about autonomy, precarity, storytelling, and politics, moderated by New York Times Magazine contributing writer Rozina Ali. This event was co-sponsored by Jewish Currents and the Freelance Solidarity Project. Transcript available here, video available here.
Ukrainian Freelancers on the Front Line (April 2022)
“Local journalists” and “fixers” are often undervalued and ill-supported despite their vital contributions to journalism in conflict zones. In solidarity with our freelance journalist colleagues in Ukraine, we hosted an online panel discussion in April 2022 to hear directly from Ukrainian freelancers about the challenges they’re facing and the support they need. Video and transcript available here.
Why Medicare for All Matters to Freelancers (July 2021)
FPS hosted an online panel discussion about the Medicare for All Act and its potential effects for freelance workers. The conversation included Rhiannon Duryea, the national coordinator for the Labor Campaign for Single Payer; Natalie Shure, a writer for The New Republic; and Dominic Harris, president of UE Local 150 in Charlotte and chair of UE 150’s Medicare for All campaign.
How do Freelancers Honor a Picket Line? (May 2021)
When staff unions strike, management often reaches out to freelancers in an effort to keep publications running. Whether we’re personally approached to work during a strike or not, what’s our role as freelancers? This members-only event brought together freelancers with extensive experience in labor, labor organizers with experience freelancing, and representatives from The New Yorker Union to get FSPers ready for the impending Conde Nast strike.