Tribune Publishing Recognizes 'Hartford Courant' Newsroom Union
Tribune Publishing has agreed to recognize a new union representing journalists at the Hartford Courant in Connecticut’s capital.
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Journalists at the Hartford Courant have won the right to organize, just four days after they asked parent company Tribune Publishing to recognize the union. Organizers at the Connecticut newspaper had also filed a petition for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board.
“The company has agreed to voluntarily recognize the Hartford Courant Guild as the representative of certain newsroom employees at the Hartford Courant and Courant Community,” Tribune Publishing said in a statement Friday. “No date has been set for the beginning of contract negotiations.”
The Courant is the latest of several Tribune newspapers to see their newsrooms unionize. Similar successful efforts were made at the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, the The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Va., and the Daily Press in Newport News, Va. (Tribune Publishing, previously named Tronc, subsequently sold the LA Times.)
The Hartford Courant Guild will cover nearly 60 reporters, editors and photographers at the paper. More than 80 percent of eligible staffers signed union cards saying they want to be represented, organizers said.
“We acknowledge Tribune Publishing for taking this step, which expedites contract negotiations, and recognizes the overwhelming will of our newsroom to take a seat at the table,” the union said in a statement.
It added, “We look forward to building a more productive and collaborative relationship with the company as we join the conversation shaping the future of the Hartford Courant. We fight for improved resources and support so we can continue to serve our readers to the best of our abilities.”
Tribune Publishing has been the focus of sale and merger talks, and in January the newspaper chain announced the departures of its CEO and the two top officials of its digital arm.
Colin Kaepernick Reaches Agreement With NFL
Former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick says he ‘resolved’ his grievances with the NFL. In 2016, he became the face of a protest movement in the NFL against racial injustice and police brutality.
MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Quarterback Colin Kaepernick has settled his collusion case against the National Football League. His former teammate, Eric Erid, has also settled his case. The two players sued the NFL, alleging teams conspired not to hire them as retaliation for kneeling during the national anthem. They had kneeled as a way to protest racial injustice and police brutality. With us now is NPR sports correspondent Tom Goldman. Hi, Tom.
TOM GOLDMAN, BYLINE: Hi, Mary Louise.
KELLY: So what details do we know about exactly how they have settled their cases?
GOLDMAN: We know nothing.
KELLY: Short interview then, thanks so much.
GOLDMAN: Let’s move on. No. We got three sentences in a joint statement by the NFL and the attorneys for Kaepernick and Reid saying they have resolved the pending grievances. And that’s it. Because of a confidentiality agreement, they are not saying anything more, which is a bit frustrating, you know, considering how this case this whole issue has roiled the country.
I mean, let’s remember how Kaepernick and his actions and Reid and the other players who followed created great upset throughout the country. The president weighed in a number of times. The vice president walked out of a game during the anthem where there were protests happening. The playing of the national anthem became must-see TV. But today, Mary Louise, we are left with three sentences.
KELLY: Three sentences from the people directly involved, but being a dogged reporter, I’m sure you’re nosing around and trying to find what everybody else is saying. So what is everybody else saying about this?
GOLDMAN: You betcha. The NFL Players Union, in a statement, says it’s not privy to the details of the settlement either. But it says it’s glad that Eric Reid has earned a job and a new contract. And the union continues to hope that Kaepernick gets his opportunity as well. Eric Reid signed last year with the Carolina Panthers, and just recently he wrapped with a very lucrative new three-year deal.
We got maybe a little insight into the settlement from Yahoo Sports. It said it was told on prior occasions that Kaepernick and Reid would only settle if a lucrative financial agreement was reached between the players and the NFL. And columnist Mike Freeman tweeted today he’s hearing from team officials that the NFL paid Kaepernick in the 60 to $80 million range.
And then I talked to University of Richmond law professor Carl Tobias, who’s followed this case closely. He says Kaepernick and Reid are vindicated in that they’re recovering something – the money. And Tobias says they’re also vindicated in that a settlement shows the NFL was unwilling to let the case proceed. In August of last year, an arbitrator ruled the case could go forward. He rejected the NFL’s attempts to have the case dismissed. That gave the players some leverage, although the collusion is tough to prove, and it wasn’t guaranteed the players would win.
KELLY: All right. So we shall watch for details of this settlement and also, as you said, for what Colin Kaepernick may do next beyond being face of Nike. I was just looking. He’s 31 years old, so by Tom Brady standards, he could have a decade of play left in him. Who knows?
GOLDMAN: Yeah, could be.
KELLY: NPR’s Tom Goldman. Thanks very much.
GOLDMAN: You’re welcome.
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The Last Horror Blog: 'Ma,' 'The Curse of La Llorona,' 'Happy Death Day 2U'
Ma trailer shows us a new side of Octavia Spencer – Every town has one: you know, that adult who spends way too much time partying with the local high school kids, even though they’re closer to social security than they are prom. Those people are creepy, as this new trailer for Ma demonstrates.
Oscar winner Octavia Spencer headlines, playing an unhinged woman who befriends a group of high school kids. Things get real weird real fast in the clip for the new Blumhouse feature. Check out the synopsis and trailer and see it for yourself.
“Oscar® winner Octavia Spencer stars as Sue Ann, a loner who keeps to herself in her quiet Ohio town. One day, she is asked by Maggie, a new teenager in town (Diana Silvers, Glass), to buy some booze for her and her friends, and Sue Ann sees the chance to make some unsuspecting, if younger, friends of her own. She offers the kids the chance to avoid drinking and driving by hanging out in the basement of her home. But there are some house rules: One of the kids has to stay sober. Don’t curse. Never go upstairs. And call her ‘Ma.’ But as Ma’s hospitality starts to curdle into obsession, what began as a teenage dream turns into a terrorizing nightmare, and Ma’s place goes from the best place in town to the worst place on earth.”
Ma hits theaters this May.
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The Curse of La Llorona trailer is creepy – We’ve got a new trailer for upcoming Warner Bros. release The Curse of La Llorona, which is set to hit theaters on April 9. Read on for the plot details.
“La Llorona. The Weeping Woman. A horrifying apparition, caught between Heaven and Hell, trapped in a terrible fate sealed by her own hand. The mere mention of her name has struck terror around the world for generations. In life, she drowned her children in a jealous rage, throwing herself in the churning river after them as she wept in pain. Now her tears are eternal. They are lethal, and those who hear her death call in the night are doomed. La Llorona creeps in the shadows and preys on the children, desperate to replace her own. As the centuries have passed, her desire has grown more voracious … and her methods more terrifying. In 1970s Los Angeles, La Llorona is stalking the night—and the children.”
Linda Cardellini and Raymond Cruz headline. Check out the trailer below and let me know what you think.
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It’s a sequel to The Nun – in LEGO form! – I’ve long been a fan of people making LEGO versions of popular films. There have been some classics over the years, and today we’re bringing you the latest, a sequel to The Nun made entirely out of the popular blocks and animated using stop-motion camera work.
Youtuber Kreimkouk is the mastermind behind the new two-and-a-half-minute short, which finds the titular character back to wreak more havoc. The artist explains that he used 1680 shots, filmed at 12 frames per second with a Sony DSC-HX50 camera to create the film. That’s some real dedication.
Check it out for yourself below.
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Is Eli Roth finally making Thanksgiving? – Word is circulating that Eli Roth is set to begin shooting a new film next month, that it’s based on a script with pal Jeff Rendell, and that filming will take place in Massachusetts, all of which has horror nerds hoping it’s Roth’s long-awaited, feature-length version of Thanksgiving.
Roth and Rendell crafted the faux trailer for the turkey day slasher as one of the clips for Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s Grindhouse. The teaser was a hit with fans, who’ve been dying to see a full-length version for years. Could this finally be it?
It’s too soon to say, but if it’s not Thanksgiving, Roth has done a great job trolling us all without actually saying anything. Personally, my guess is it’s a different project, but it’s still fun to imagine what a Thanksgiving would look like.
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Horror on the Horizon
Only one horror film is getting a wide release over the next two weeks, but it’s a big one.
Happy Death Day 2U, the sequel to 2017’s surprise hit, has opened in theaters nationwide, and if you’re still celebrating Valentine’s Day, this one’s for you and your beloved!
The film, which is billed as a sort of Back to the Future-esque follow-up, will pick up right where the first film left off, only with star Jessica Rothe now tasked with not only saving herself, but other people around her as well.
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Horror on Home Video
Hope your wallet has recovered from the holidays, because there are a lot of good discs coming over the next two weeks.
February 19 is packed with cool stuff, and Arrow’s release of H.G. Lewis’ gore classic Color Me Blood Red leads the way. Lewis’ gore films are campy and quaint by today’s standards, but there’s no denying their importance in terms of horror film history. Arrow gets that, and thus this disc is loaded with extras.
Also on the docket this week: a Blu-ray version of Firestarter, As Above, So Below, John Badham’s 1979 version of Dracula (with Frank Langella and Laurence Olivier…), WWII horror flick Overlord, and Skinner, a cult oddity with Traci Lords, Ricki Lake and Ted Raimi.
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February 26 doesn’t bring us quite so many titles, but it does bring us Vinegar Syndrome’s version of Mausoleum, an 80s cult classic that’s finally coming to Blu-ray.
“The Nomed Family has been the victim of an ancient curse in which the first born daughter of each generation has gone violently mad and then suspiciously dies. No one can explain the Nomed madness, but some say it’s because of the possession of a terrible demonic force. By way of an unnatural urge during her mother’s funeral, Susan entered her family’s mausoleum, and ever since an evil presence has been lurking inside of her, waiting for a chance to come out. Now an adult, something is hiding inside Susan’s body, coming out to grotesquely murder anyone who comes too close to uncovering her terrifying secret.”
This one’s got some great extras, so don’t miss out.
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