I've seen some pretty criminal salaries while curating La Fronde's job postings on Thursdays, to the point where I've thought about having a dedicated section to call out some of the worst offenders (I've come to realize that I probably am my defamation lawyer's worst nightmare).

With that said, this job post from Schneps Media — which owns amNewYork and other big local papers in New York City — would be a pretty strong contender. Based in Long Island, the reporter job offers a measly $37,000-$40,000 pay range. Why, in 2026, are we out here paying people only $37,000 to live in New York? The part about needing to own a car and phone is also laughable. Not when your salary amounts to a glorified tip jar, my dear. That's a Barbie jeep and a Fisher Price cell phone.

Anyway, cheers to the fine folks over at Schneps Media who just formed a union. After seeing this pittance of a salary, I understand why. For today's newsletter I spoke with one of the union members about why they're joining forces (the new posting's low salary is sadly not a one-off issue). Plus, a chat with Michelle Andrews of Gen Z brand Impact about the issues young women are thinking about right now, and some of the strategies they're doing that all legacy newsrooms could learn from, and a new mentorship program for Black women journalists.

xoxo,

Stephanie

No matter what company I worked for, I always faced the same challenge from corporate: How can our (insert out of touch brand here) reach young audiences? The prescription was always the same: these people aren’t getting news from websites and we need to invest in social media. Impact never had this problem, though, of having to play catch up with what new audiences want. Their brand started as an answer to the issue legacy publications couldn't seem to figure out.

Impact started right after the murder of George Floyd. Michelle Andrews and Tim Chau, who were in their early 20s when they launched Impact, aimed to create an outlet for Gen Z readers who wanted to not just learn about what’s happening in the world, but how to take action that could net positive change. One of the best ways they do this is through their Instagram account, where they post high-touch visuals that look like pages out of a print zine. They are masterful at understanding their audience because they are the audience: the team is all Gen Z, mostly women and people of color, who are tapped into all different kinds of internet fandoms. 

Since launch, they’ve grown their audience to over 2.5 million social media followers and more than 30,000 newsletter readers. I spoke with Chief Content Officer and Co-Founder Michelle Andrews about what’s on young women’s minds now and what legacy media is still getting wrong about Gen Z.