The Objective launched in June 2020 to challenge systems of oppression in newsrooms for the sake of both journalists and the communities we cover. In the short time that we’ve existed, we’re already extremely proud of the work we’ve published and the conversations we’ve started.
Since we started publishing last June, we’ve:
- Published 48 stories, Q&A’s, and reported essays, like Janelle Salanga’s essay on U.S. media’s failure to report on how government censorship in the Philippines impacts Filipino Americans.
- Emailed out 27 issues of our newsletter, The Front Page, which is republished every other week by Nieman Lab.
- Co-published a long-form piece on how media criticism and reporting is, for the most part, very white in partnership with the Poynter Institute.
- Published response to the infamous Harper’s Letter, co-signed by more than 150 journalists, academics, and others.
- Created an advisory board of talented journalists, academics, and advocates including Karen K. Ho, Hanaa’ Tameez, Tanvi Misra, Adriana Lacy, Anita Varma, Lacy Lew Nguyen Wright, Cordelia Yu, Mohamed Al Elew, Stacy Fernández, and Anjali Khosla.
That said, even with all of these accomplishments, we’re also extremely tired. This effort has been a labor of love throughout, but all of The Objective’s work has been done on a volunteer basis and we’ve come to the realization that we need a break.
So, for the next three months — during July, August, and September — you’re going to hear less from us. The Objective is run by journalists and former journalists who have full-time jobs. It was started on the premise that there is a more respectful and equitable way to lead newsrooms and report the news. This means that we intend to lead by example; when we need to take a break, we’ll take a break.
Behind the scenes, some of us will be filing paperwork, paying fees, and working on getting our writers paid. We are also leaving Substack and expect to be done migrating our website by September. Our Twitter will remain active, but we won’t solicit new pitches. With one exciting exception (more details on this soon), we will only publish stories and essays we have already accepted, but The Front Page, our regular Q&As, reporting, and essays will be put on hold.
If you’re already subscribed to our newsletter, there’s no need for you to do anything. We’ll let you know when we’re back (And if you’re not, why not subscribe now?)
By the time fall rolls around, and our team has had time to start processing 2020 — as well as the moves, layoffs, deaths, marriages, new jobs, and everything else that happened last year — we’ll be back with a better idea of what The Objective needs to do to better support journalists who share our values and push the field forward.
If you share our passion for this work and want to help us succeed, consider donating so that we can pay our contributors. Beyond that, we’d love to hear from you about how we can better move forward with intention and care at [email protected]
Thanks for your patience. We’ll be back soon.
Our stories are funded by readers like you.
The Objective is a nonprofit newsroom holding journalism accountable for past and current systemic biases in reporting and newsroom practices. We are written by and for those underrepresented in journalism.
