37 worker and employee owned media & publishing companies
investigative tech journalism
Worker-owned investigative tech and cybersecurity outlet founded 2023 by four journalists. Exposes hacking, privacy vulnerabilities, and digital exploitation. Reader-supported.
video game journalism
Reader-funded worker-owned video game and internet culture site keeping the spirit of old-school independent games journalism alive. Founded by veteran games journalists.
reproductive rights journalism
Worker-owned reproductive rights and justice publication.
queer feminist bookstore
NYC Lower East Side queer feminist bookstore founded 1999, worker-owned since 2021. Online shop via Bookshop.org. Ships nationally.
horror culture magazine
Worker-owned horror culture magazine. Criticism and commentary.
sports & culture journalism
Worker-owned sports and culture site launched in 2020 by the former Deadspin staff who walked out together. Reader-supported, no outside investors, workers own 100%.
cooperative newsletter / essays
Collaborative daily cooperative newsletter delivering unmediated essays, criticism, and art from over 65 creators. Each contributor owns an equal share.
food co-op journalism
Worker-owned media cooperative based in Washington DC. News publication covering the food co-op sector. Subscription and donation supported.
music journalism
Worker-owned music journalism platform built by veteran editors to critique and celebrate music without corporate oversight. Reader-supported.
bookstore
Worker and consumer-owned co-op bookshop in Providence, RI. Online bookshop, audiobooks via Libro.fm, ebooks via Bookshop.org. Co-op memberships available.
local news / NYC
Sharp, fiercely independent local news outlet covering New York City politics and neighborhood culture. Worker-owned, reader-supported, unapologetically NYC.
bookstore
Worker-owned bookstore in Tucson, AZ. New and used books, games, and comics. Online shop via Bookshop.org and audiobooks via Libro.fm.
local news
Worker-owned news cooperative in Long Beach CA. Founded April 2024 by journalists laid off after unionizing at the Long Beach Post. Reader and ad supported.
podcast network
Pioneering listener-supported independent podcast network that converted to employee ownership in 2023. Home to My Brother, My Brother and Me; Judge John Hodgman; and dozens more.
recording studio rental
Employee-owned recording studio in Los Angeles available for rent. Professional audio and video recording space operated by the team behind the Maximum Fun podcast network.
Ships: local (Los Angeles CA)
streaming video subscription
Worker-owned cooperative streaming service. $7.99/month. Films, documentaries, scripted shows, daily news. Available on Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV.
Ships: US / worldwide (digital)
books / zines / patches / stickers / prints
Portland OR worker-ownership program since 1996. Publishers Weekly Fastest Growing Publisher 2022-2024. DIY, punk, social justice zines and books. Also sells patches, stickers, buttons, shirts. US-printed.
Ships: worldwide
publisher / psychology / self-help
Majority employee-owned (ESOP) publisher since 1973. Oakland, CA. Psychology, mental health, and self-help books and workbooks.
bookstore
Worker-owned bookstore and cafe in Astoria, Queens NYC. Currently between physical spaces but online shop active via Bookshop.org.
bookstore
Worker cooperative bookstore in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood since 2020. Leftist politics, lit in translation, poetry, graphic novels, children's books, Spanish-language. Online via Bookshop.org.
pop culture journalism
Worker-owned pop culture media company. Reader-funded, subscription model.
local arts & culture / Minneapolis
Subscriber-backed alternative source for local arts, news, and food culture across the Minneapolis–St. Paul Twin Cities. Worker-owned, independent.
books / print shop
Black-led, worker-owned, union print shop and publisher in Brooklyn, NY. Publishes titles from marginalized community voices. Online bookstore at radix.coop/shop.
local news / Spokane
Worker-owned independent online news covering Spokane and the Inland Northwest.
tabletop RPG & board game journalism
Reader-supported, worker-owned journalism outlet dedicated exclusively to covering the tabletop RPG and board game industry. The only co-op in the games press.
general bookstore
Lawrence KS. Employee-owned since 2022. Known for How to Resist Amazon and Why author Danny Caine. Online ordering available.
food journalism
Worker-owned food culture journalism. Reader-supported.
radical bookstore
Worker-owned radical bookstore, cafe and community space in Baltimore MD since 2004. Online bookshop via Bookshop.org. Strong politics, history, social theory selection.
gaming media / video essays
Worker-owned gaming media company. Video essays, podcasts, and livestreams about video games, movies and TV. Founded Nov 2023 after The Escapist walkout. Kansas City area.
games media
Worker-owned games media. Reviews, features, and podcasts.
cooperative magazine
Cooperative literary and intellectual magazine of new and unconventional thinking in politics, economics, and culture. Subscription memberships available. Founded 2020.
Ships: worldwide (digital)
local news
Worker-led nonprofit newsroom covering Washington DC. Founded by former DCist/WAMU journalists. Contributed to a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation. Reader-supported.
statewide news / journalism
Public-benefit, journalist-owned newsroom delivering rigorous investigative and statewide reporting across Colorado. Member-supported, founded 2018 by Denver Post journalists.
feminist journalism
Worker-owned intersectional feminist journalism. Founded October 2024 by 10 co-owners. Reader-supported, no ads.
bookstore / coffee shop
Worker-owned bookstore, coffee shop, and writers' studio in Kansas City, MO.
Ships: verify online availability
books
Oldest and largest employee-owned book publisher in the US, wholly owned by employees since the early 1960s. Known for the Norton Anthologies and thousands of trade and academic titles.
Ships: US / worldwide
music / movies / merch
Employee-owned record store chain. Phoenix, Tucson, and Las Vegas locations. Sells vinyl, CDs, cassettes, movies, books, and merch online.