Journalists need a union. Democracy depends on it | Nicole Meilak

If journalism is in crisis, it’s not because of censorship alone but because of burnout. Public debates on press freedom often focus on political attacks or legal threats to the press. These are important discussions to be had, but there’s a more insidious danger threatening newsrooms.

Journalists are overworked and underpaid, and they aren’t being given the support to meet the demands of a fast-paced, profit-driven industry. As digital pressures mount and media companies cut costs, journalists are forced to wear multiple hats, work unpaid overtime and sacrifice their wellbeing to keep the news cycle moving.

This exploitation doesn’t just harm individual news workers—it’s threatening the very quality and independence of the press. Among the solutions to protect press freedom and restore journalistic integrity in Malta is a union.

Journalists carry out important and democratic work, but their role, especially in commercial newsrooms, is also to make money for the company. As newsrooms get smaller and digital news demands quicker stories, journalists are being forced to work under much shorter time frames and with far fewer resources to generate the same value as before the digital revolution in news.

With this came a drive towards multiskilling. Despite never being trained to do so, journalists go out in the field and are forced into working as reporters, photographers and videographers, all at one go. Some go back to their newsroom and do the work of editors, graphic designers and social media managers. The same goes for photojournalists, many of whom started off as photographers but have been forced into videography and video editing over the years to keep up with company demands. 

Certain technological advances have also placed more pressure on journalists. Audience analytics mean companies have a clearer idea of how many people are seeing any given article. These views become the company’s measure of success for the organisation and for individual employees, in turn leading journalists and editors to write stories that are view-worthy first, newsworthy second. The news stops being dictated by public interest but instead by social media algorithms, as they determine which stories end up on people’s home feeds. 

It's no secret that media companies are struggling to bring in a profit. Advertising revenue was already dwindling, with marketers handing their money to Facebook and Instagram, and the Covid-19 pandemic dealt a major blow too. To curb labour costs, media companies shirk on overtime payments or will try to cut corners by paying unequal salaries. More increasingly, media companies are hiring students on a freelance basis but working them as full- or part-timers without the proper benefits—a norm in many industries in Malta.

This is all considered par for the course in journalism, but it’s time to step back and take a closer look at how the demands of the job are damaging the industry for good. And while we recognise the financial challenges, it’s time someone starts representing journalists as news workers.

We are not reinventing the wheel. In the US, the post-Covid period saw a wave of unionisation in newsrooms. Journalists across the country negotiated significant pay increases, guaranteed severance packages and protections against harassment. Even now, journalists are negotiating guaranteed remote work and AI protection.

In an industry plagued by burnout, unpaid overtime and growing job insecurity, unionisation helps challenge these injustices and brings a cultural shift to newsrooms. Of course, salaries are the critical areas of negotiation, but collective bargaining can give journalists a real say in how their profession operates.

Unionising news workers restores the balance of power between owners and employees, countering the top-down decision-making that often dominates media companies. Like any other sector, journalism suffers when workers are treated as replaceable rather than respected as the skilled, essential professionals they are.

Only recently did the Institute of Maltese Journalists (IĠM) takes its first step by becoming a registered trade union. Going forward, the IĠM’s role will not be to speak for journalists but to build the structure through which journalists speak for themselves. Collective bargaining cannot be a distant, bureaucratic process. It must reflect the same solidarity that can already be felt while out on coverages, where journalists routinely help each other with filming, photography and other technical issues.

Through unionisation, this spirit of collaboration can be formalised into real power, giving news workers the tools to negotiate fairer conditions, resist exploitation and ultimately reclaim journalism as a community, not just an industry.

Democracy suffers when journalists are no longer able to do their job well. If we believe that journalism is the Fourth Estate—a watchdog that keeps communities informed and authorities accountable—then we need to make sure that journalists have the resources to work properly. The government has long been promising a White Paper on media reform. This White Paper ought to be published as soon as possible. However, legal reform cannot replace financial help, which is what will really protect journalists and newsrooms.

The IĠM fully intends on negotiating agreements for better pay and working conditions. In line with this, the IĠM is now focusing on improving its internal structures while creating a sense of community in newsrooms and in the industry more generally. It’s easy to forget that journalists have more in common with their counterparts in other newsrooms than they do with their own management. Camaraderie is a cornerstone of unionising efforts, and we’re here to build a movement. Without solidarity, there is no union.

The IĠM knows that the only way to promote and protect standards in journalism is by unionising newsrooms. We thank all those activists who are in the fight for press freedom, and we encourage them to continue, but we believe it’s now the IĠM’s role to make sure journalists are protected on their workplaces—protected not just from physical risks but also from unjust salaries, unpaid overtime, and especially burnout, which has led many journalists to leave the industry.

Journalism cannot thrive when the people behind it are exhausted, underpaid or silenced in their workplaces. The press cannot be protected if its internal conditions are quietly undermining its integrity. If we want journalism to remain a pillar of democracy, we need to make sure journalists are empowered to do their jobs with fairness and autonomy. That power doesn’t come from empty promises or policy papers but from solidarity. Unionising is the clearest path forward, not just to protect journalists, but to restore purpose, strength, and balance to the entire profession.

Nicole Meilak is the secretary general of the Institute of Maltese Journalist