The Idaho Statesman’s newsroom went on strike Tuesday to protest AI content and what workers say are unfair wages.
More than a dozen reporters, columnists and photographers walked out of the newsroom and joined a picket line on Park Boulevard in Boise. Founded in 1864, the Idaho Statesman was bought by the publishing company McClatchy Media in 2006.
“This company continues to spend millions of dollars per year on A.I., while at the same time telling us that livable wages and meeting inflation are not a company strategy,” said Sports reporter and Union chair Michael Lycklama. “We're asking for the company to invest in humans instead of AI.”
The strike was organized by the Idaho News Guild, a union representing 19 members of the Idaho Statesman newsroom.
Lycklama said last year, an AI-generated Idaho Statesman story mistakenly reported a local brewery had closed and McClatchy did not issue a correction and deleted the story.
“Any mistake is a severe wound to us and having a machine that literally makes stuff up all day just further degrades our credibility with our community,” he said.
Lycklama said this year McClatchy asked newsrooms to increase their output by 20%.
“And that is being met with a 2% proposed increase in wages,” he said. “We need to pay for groceries. We need to go to the doctor, and it's getting harder and harder and harder every year under McClatchy ownership.”
“My rent has gone up 30%,” said Breaking News Reporter Sally Krutzig from the picket line.
“I would love to keep reporting on my neighbors and the community I care about, but that's not possible if I keep losing buying power every year.”
As the media company invests in new AI tools, reporters are also asking for ethical guidelines
“I just think right now, before it's too late, we need to set those guardrails in place,” Krutzig said.
The paper’s subscribers, she added, are not interested in AI slop.
“They want a human reporter who's taken the time to get it right.”
Four Washington-based newsrooms, The Tacoma News Tribune, Bellingham Herald, The Olympian and Tri-City Herald, also joined the one-day strike. The Washington and Idaho News Guilds have been collectively bargaining for new contracts for a year.
McClatchy Media did not respond to a request for comment by our deadline.
