Defector
Born from the Deadspin walkout
After private equity owners fired their deputy editor and demanded the staff "stick to sports," the entire Deadspin editorial team resigned in solidarity. They rebuilt as a worker cooperative — 100% employee-owned, subscription-funded, and profitable. Around 40,000 paid subscribers and $4.6M in annual revenue prove the model works.
Sports
Culture
Politics
Podcasts
Flaming Hydra
A cooperative of 60+ writers & artists
An ambitious expansion of the Brick House cooperative, Flaming Hydra unites over 65 writers and artists who each contribute one original piece per month in exchange for an equal share of subscription revenue. No ads, no investors, no algorithms — just a captivating daily newsletter at $3/month. Contributors span The New Yorker, The Nation, and beyond.
Essays
Comics
Literature
Criticism
404 Media
Former Vice / Motherboard journalists
Four former Motherboard editors and writers launched 404 Media three months after Vice filed for bankruptcy. Reporter-owned and consensus-driven, they cover AI, hacking, privacy, and the intersection of technology and society. Won an EFF Pioneer Award in 2024 and reached profitability within their first year.
Tech
AI
Privacy
Hacking
Hell Gate
Independent NYC local journalism
Named after the Hell Gate Bridge for its tenacity, this worker-owned outlet covers New York City with the kind of sharp, irreverent local reporting that's vanishing everywhere else. Five reporters and two editors, all co-owners. They doubled subscription revenue in year two and reached profitability, expecting around $850,000 in 2025 revenue.
NYC
Local News
Politics
Culture
Aftermath
Former Kotaku staff reclaim games journalism
When G/O Media's private equity ownership gutted Kotaku, several former staffers banded together to build Aftermath — a worker-owned site covering video games, internet culture, and the broader world. Part of a growing wave of journalists who decided they'd rather own the work than have it owned for them.
Gaming
Internet Culture
Tech
Racket
Twin Cities alternative journalism
Writer-owned and reader-funded, Racket delivers news, arts, and culture coverage for Minneapolis–St. Paul. They carry forward the spirit of alternative journalism in the Twin Cities with sharp local reporting, cultural coverage, and their signature daily Flyover news roundup.
Twin Cities
Local News
Arts
Culture
The Colorado Sun
Journalists who left the hedge-fund-owned Denver Post
When Alden Global Capital gutted the Denver Post, ten veteran journalists quit to launch the Colorado Sun — now a 501(c)(3) nonprofit newsroom with a democratic governance structure resembling a co-op. Award-winning coverage of Colorado politics, water, climate, and community news, entirely reader-supported.
Colorado
Local News
Nonprofit
Investigations
The 51st
Former DCist and WAMU journalists
When WAMU abruptly shut down the DCist website in February 2024, laying off 16 journalists, six former staffers launched The 51st — a worker-led nonprofit covering Washington, D.C. local news. Workers make up the board, and the nonprofit structure allows them to raise funds through tax-deductible donations while retaining full editorial control. A crowdfunding campaign raised over $275,000 from 3,500 local donors.
Washington DC
Local News
Nonprofit
Discourse Blog
Former Splinter / Gawker writers
When G/O Media's private equity owners shut down Splinter, its writers channeled their outrage into Discourse Blog — a worker-owned publication covering politics, culture, and media with the sharp, irreverent voice that corporate ownership tried to kill. Reader-supported with no ads and no outside investors.
Politics
Culture
Media
Long Beach Watchdog
Fired for unionizing, came back stronger
Nine journalists were laid off just four days after their unionization attempt at a Long Beach nonprofit news outlet. Together with three colleagues who struck in solidarity, they founded the Long Beach Watchdog — a worker cooperative run democratically by the people doing the journalism.
Long Beach
Local News
Labor
Hearing Things
Former Pitchfork staff rebuild music journalism
When Condé Nast gutted Pitchfork and folded it into GQ, five former staffers with 85 combined years in music journalism launched Hearing Things. Now 100% worker-owned, they publish curated album and song reviews, investigative reporting, and artist features — an antidote to algorithmic music consumption.
Music
Culture
Reviews
RANGE Media
Worker-owned civic journalism for the Inland Northwest
Owned by the Spokane Workers Cooperative, RANGE covers the Inland Northwest with investigative reporting that centers the perspectives of marginalized communities. Founded as a pandemic-era podcast, it grew into a full newsroom focused on how policy impacts ordinary people — journalism that helps people understand their power.
Spokane
Local News
Investigations
Civics
Block Club Chicago
Journalist-founded nonprofit after DNAinfo shutdown
When billionaire Joe Ricketts abruptly shuttered DNAinfo, three veteran Chicago editors launched Block Club Chicago with a record-setting Kickstarter campaign. Now a nonprofit newsroom, they embed reporters directly in Chicago's neighborhoods, combining old-school shoe-leather reporting with a commitment to putting residents at the center of every story.
Chicago
Local News
Neighborhoods
Nonprofit
Pop Heist
Employee-owned entertainment journalism, ad-free
An employee-owned entertainment news outlet that's adamantly against on-site advertising. Pop Heist covers movies, TV, and pop culture with the conviction that corporate interests and the algorithm have ruined entertainment journalism. Fully subscription-supported with no ads, delivering coverage that serves readers rather than advertisers.
Entertainment
Movies
TV
Pop Culture
The Appeal
Workers took over after original ownership ran out of money
The Appeal covers criminal justice, policing, and the legal system with a focus on systemic reform. After its original ownership team ran out of funding in 2021, the workers took over operations, making it one of the rare publications where the staff wrested control to keep the journalism alive. Recently partnered with RJI to build toolkits for other worker-led newsrooms.
Criminal Justice
Policy
Investigations
The Flytrap
Worker-owned intersectional feminist media
Launched on Election Day 2024 after Jezebel's shutdown, The Flytrap is a worker-owned collective of 10 writers and artists delivering intersectional feminist cultural criticism, reporting, and analysis. Funded by a successful Kickstarter, they also preserve feminist media history through a partnership to republish Bitch Media's archives. Their motto: "Fuck the algorithm."
Feminism
Culture
Politics
Criticism
Documented
Nonprofit newsroom for NYC's immigrant communities
An independent nonprofit newsroom that doesn't just report about immigrants — it reports for them. Documented publishes in English, Spanish, Chinese, and Haitian Creole, delivers news via WhatsApp, and embeds community correspondents to fill critical information gaps. Their multilingual resource platform connects asylum seekers with vetted legal aid, housing, and services.
NYC
Immigration
Multilingual
Nonprofit
COYOTE Media
Bay Area's first worker-owned newsroom
Eleven veteran Bay Area journalists — including former SF Chronicle critic Soleil Ho and novelist Daniel Lavery — banded together to revive the spirit of alt-weeklies. COYOTE is 100% worker-owned with zero venture capital, funded by a crowdfunding campaign that surpassed $120,000. They publish longform investigations, arts and culture coverage, and even a "Meet Cute Market" missed-connections board.
Bay Area
Local News
Arts
Culture