Employees of the AV Club, The Onion, and Clickhole have formed a union. Onion Inc. staffers join Gizmodo Media Group, Vice, and more in unionizing under the Writers Guild of America, East.
The New York Times has released a report on the diversity of its staff. The company plans to publish a report on the gender and ethnic diversity of its staff annually.
The Ecuadorian Embassy in London has cut off Julian Assange’s internet access due to his violation of “an agreement he signed with his hosts at the end of 2017 not to use his communiques to interfere in the affairs of other states.”
Danielle Tcholakian explores the idea of journalism as activism, parsing the criticism and praise received by a student journalist at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School who told CNN that journalism was a form of activism.
Twenty-five years after its publication, Jeffrey Eugenides discusses the legacy of The Virgin Suicides. Comparing the book to Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why, Eugenides reflects on the difficulties of writing about suicide and depression. “I understand why people worry about books and movies and television shows contributing to a sense of malaise and pushing people to commit suicide,” he said. “But that’s an old argument — about whether art is inspiring people to do things, or whether it’s a reflection of the world people are already inhabiting and things they’re already feeling.”
Literary Hub’s Kristen Evans wonders what it takes to make a well-received literary adaptation for film and television. Evans talks to a number of TV and film critics, who disagree over how faithful an adaptation needs to be to the source material. “An adaptation can even improve on the source material, or at least give flat, stereotypical characters a second chance at life on screen,” Evans writes. “Sometimes, it’s just good TV to move away from the source text and its limitations, riffing on themes instead of adhering to plot.”
