A Goal Equal To Our Vision: Expand The Detroit Sunday Journal
The Detroit newspaper strike has energized, galvanized, unified, radicalized and inspired more folks in this area for a more sustained time than any cause in years.
It has also wounded, worn down, frustrated, divided, sapped and ruined more folks than any cause in years.
It's wondrous testimony to the backbone, dignity and righteousness of the people of Michigan that this much effort has gone into a fight to win back jobs for 2,000 people. It's remarkable that people have risked their lives sitting down in front of trucks, battling police, staring down armed guards. Truth be told, it' s energy disproportionate to the prize.
The strength and persistence of the support is humbling for some of us strikers. After all, thousands of other jobs in this area have gone down the tubes with much less protest; most, in fact, with hardly a whimper. Why is this strike so special?
It's not just because there's a widespread recognition that this is a crucial showdown for labor. It's also because there's an understanding that the Detroit area needs a unifying voice. It needs a trusted source of information. It needs real newspapers.
There' s increasing recognition of the dangers posed by the concentration of power over information in the hands of fewer and fewer mega-corporations. There's an increasing distrust of managed, packaged, spoonfed, generic "news" marketed like fast food for the mind.
The people of Michigan have been fighting for much more than just the jobs of 2,000 strikers. They have been fighting to get the kind of newspaper they deserve. But they're never going to get it from Gannett or Knight-Ridder.
The problem with the strike is not merely that union leadership hasn't adopted the best strategies. The problem is not merely that too many strikers have drifted away. The problem is not just a lack of more widespread labor and community support. The problem is that the goals of the strike are too paltry.
Winning the strike would mean 2,000 workers would get new contracts with some pay increases and protections. This would be wonderful for the workers and their families. It would also be a symbolic victory over corporate greed. But the corporate giants, even in defeat, would gird for the next battle. Those 2,000 jobs and those two newspapers would remain under the joint control of Gannett and Knight-Ridder, two corporations which have shown no regard for the welfare of their employees, the integrity of their product or the needs of the people of Detroit and Michigan.
It's likely the companies will close one of the papers sooner or later, probably sooner. Then many of the jobs that we have all fought so hard to win back would be gone.
Even if both papers keep publishing, they will never regain the respect or readership or advertising revenue they have squandered during this senseless war to destroy the unions. Under any contract, jobs will be reduced, unions will be attacked, and lies will be told.
In another language, the control of the means of production will still be in the hands of the bosses.
Unfortunately, a much bleaker scenario is unfolding. National union leadership is trying to force Detroit strikers to accept the strategy of a "return to work" offer. That would mean some strikers would go back to their jobs under their old contracts. The companies could be forced to let go of some of their scabs to make room for the strikers. The national unions promise they would pour money and energy into a nationwide effort to back an "inside/outside" campaign, trying to pressure the companies for new contracts.
The problems with this strategy are obvious. Our energies would be divided and our ability to pressure the companies would be decreased. The companies' efforts to convince the public the battle was over would be bolstered. Essential community support would dwindle.
It's understandable that strikers and supporters have flagged of late. Time takes a toll; so do the demands of making a living. The companies count on that: Time is on their side. But I think there's also a sense among strikers and supporters that the goals being pursued are not worth the effort.
There is a better way. There are loftier goals. And I believe there is now a unique opportunity to realize them.
Instead of merely fighting to get back our old jobs in the service of corporate power, we could be fighting to create our own jobs. And we could be working to créate a newspaper that is responsive to workers and the community.
A major focus of the strike should be invigorating and expanding The Detroit Sunday Journal with the goal of more frequent publication. As a weekly, the Journal has become a sustaining, well-read and solid little paper. It's the first mass-audience newspaper in memory to voice the concerns of Michigan workers. But it hasn't posed a major threat to The News and Free Press.
Someone is going to enter the Detroit newspaper market to challenge the weakened News or Free Press, certainly when one of them closes, if not sooner. That challenger likely will be another soulless Corporation, unless we get there first. With proper planning, The Journal could be transformed over the coming months. It's happened in other cities; strike papers have survived strikes and become permanent fixtures.
What form a permanent Journal would take is hard to say. I'd like to see an ownership/investment structure with four elements: unions, a few large local investors, thousands of small investor-subscribers, and employee ownership. Others may have a better idea.
While daily publication would produce the most full-time jobs and the most information for readers, it also would require huge amounts of money and might be out of reach in the short run. I'd like to see a three-times-a-week paper: a strong Saturday paper like the current Journal, a Monday paper with plenty of sports, and a Wednesday or Thursday paper with plenty of entertainment and events listings.
However The Journal evolves, it should be a mass-market paper with a strong voice for workers, much like the current Journal. It should be a vital, take-no-prisoners paper unafraid to do investigative reporting and unafraid to offend any abusers of power. And it would kick Gannett and Knight-Ridder in the butt.
Never has there been this kind of opportunity to create such a paper. With thousands of loyal readers, The Journal has a leg up. With the new unity forged in prosecuting this strike, there' s an audience eager for more of what The Journal has offered.
What's needed now is for the community to demonstrate that it would support such a paper. I'm asking for pledges: not real money, but a figure you might be willing to invest in a more frequent, permanent Journal. Obviously, the terms of any such investment are as yet unknown, and your pledge would not be an unalterable commitment, just a show of support. Send name, address, phone and amount of pledge ($100 minimum) by fax to 313-998-1609 or by e-mail to MJ Betzold @aol.com. The effort poured into winning this strike must not be wasted. We need a victory equal to our commitment and vision.
Michael Betzold is a striking Detroit Free Press reporter, a member of The Newspaper Guild Local 22, and an Ann Arbor resident and freelance writer.