Indepent media

Post here indepent media to keep you informed on social action and stories behind the news

www.indymedia.org

Indymedia is a collective of independent media organizations and hundreds of journalists offering grassroots, non-corporate coverage. Indymedia is a democratic media outlet for the creation of radical, accurate, and passionate tellings of truth.

WireTap
WireTap is an independent information source by and for socially conscious youth. The magazine showcases investigative articles, personal essays, opinion editorials, artwork and activist resources to give young people a voice in the media. WireTap is a place for a new generation of writers, artists and activists to network and organize.

AlterNet.org
First launched in 1998, AlterNet's online magazine provides a mix of news, opinion and investigative journalism on subjects ranging from the environment, the drug war, technology and cultural trends to policy debate, sexual politics and health issues. The AlterNet article database includes thousands of stories from hundreds of sources.

Consolidation of corporate power;
unprecedented cuts to newsrooms;
concentration of ownership;
the rise of the public relations industry;
the intensification of disinformation campaigns;
reliance on right-wing think tanks.

While you won't read about it in the papers, these ongoing trends are cause for increasing alarm among hundreds of thousands of Canadians. These trends have also led to the largest resurgence in independent media activity in decades.

In Canada, as elsewhere, diverse efforts involving thousands of people have arisen. However, these efforts remain largely obscure to the vast majority of Canadians.

MANA (the Media Alliance for New Activism) is Canada's largest network of independent media groups. This website of MANA seeks simply to aid those who are looking for alternatives, or wish to get involved in building independent media.

SAMAR (South Asian Magazine for Action and Reflection)

SAMAR (South Asian Magazine for Action and Reflection) is a magazine/website with a South Asian focus based in the United States. We choose to use the term "South Asian" because we feel it is important to bring attention to the fact that South Asians are a group of people with a shared history and that this history provides a common basis for understanding our place in the contemporary world. Whereas most other South Asian magazines are based on differences of region, religion and nationality within South Asia, we have chosen to base ours on a South Asian collectivity that is now spread out across the globe. At SAMAR, we hope to reflect the full complexity of "South Asian" in the composition of the editorial collective, contributors and readers.

SAMAR responds to a need for a publication that fosters serious debates within the South Asian community and is meant for a general audience. It focuses on analyses of social processes rather than on direct reporting of news events. As suggested by the name of the magazine, SAMAR tends towards social analyses that draw their energy from activist involvement.

We are living in an era of rightward political drift. In North America as in South Asia, SAMAR's fundamental commitment is to advancing the forces for social and economic justice. To that end, we at SAMAR work to nurture critical and dissenting voices and invite you to join us in debating the range and depth of radical alternatives to present social arrangements.

Democracy Now

A daily TV/radio news program, hosted by Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez, airing on over 700 stations, pioneering the largest community media collaboration in the U.S.

Open Left

OpenLeft is a news, analysis and action website dedicated toward building a progressive governing majority in America. The three founding partners are Chris Bowers, Mike Lux, and Matt Stoller

We believe that there is a great movement of left-wing activism in America today, and we want to understand it.

Now, there are a lot of ways to talk about movements, and we see them not as historians but as modern political activists. That means we are trying to understand the institutions those movements left behind, and the technologies, tools, tactics, and ideas of those institutions. The first progressive movement, from 1890-1920, led to the regulation of the meat industry, anti-trust legislation, popular election of Senators, women's suffrage, the federal income tax, etc. It's not clear, though, what institutions remain that live on along the lines of early progressive era groups. The ACLU is one example, as it was established after the first red scare, and now has a large direct mail base.

In terms of institutions building, there have been two great left-wing movements in the past seventy five years, each of which, in their time, represented the best of America. At the core of the first movement was the mass unionization efforts of the 1930s, which led to the expansion and prosperity of the middle class in the post-WWII era. The second started with the civil right movement in the 1950s, and flowered into the broader movements of the 1960s. The institutions of this era combined to end Jim Crow and the Vietnam war, achieve new rights for women, and pass the first major environmental and consumer safety laws since the turn of the century. These two groups are sometimes referred to as the Old Left and the New Left, respectively.

...

Why Open Left? Why not just netroots?

Good question. We've never been comfortable with the term 'netroots'. It's a term without a coherent meaning, sometimes pointing to liberals that organize in online communities, sometimes meaning anyone online who does so. This term doesn't describe who we are, because there is no divide between online and offline at this point; insiders use email and blogs, and outsider activists run campaigns and have in-person conferences. The term 'Open Left' is a much wider and more descriptive way of understanding the larger political dynamics at play. It is not the use of the internet that matters, it is the expression of traditional left-wing American principles on open systems that is the institutional innovation at work here.

This has been a long time coming. The internet itself expresses certain values that go back to very early American philosophers, and its communal and networked structure combined with its rampant capacity for individualism is uniquely situated for our moment in history. The third important left wing movement in modern American history is nearly ten years old, it's time we recognize what's going on.

MOSAIC: World News from the Middle East

About Mosaic
Mosaic features selections from daily TV news programs produced by national broadcasters throughout the Middle East. The news reports are presented unedited and translated, when necessary, into English.

Mosaic includes television news broadcasts from selected national and regional entities listed on the left. Some of the broadcasters are state controlled and others are private networks, often affiliated with political factions. These news reports are regularly watched by 280 million people in 22 countries all over the Middle East.

Mosaic is supported by The Hewlett Foundation, which promotes the well-being of mankind by supporting selected charitable activities and organizations; and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which advances journalism excellence worldwide and invests in the vitality of 26 U.S. communities.

On April 7, 2005, Mosaic was chosen a Peabody Award winner, as one of the best in electronic media for 2004. The Peabody Awards, the oldest honor in electronic media, recognizes distinguished achievement and meritorious public service.

Latest in the series:

Asia Times online


Asia Times Online http://www.atimes.com and http://www.atchinese.com, is a quality Internet-only publication that reports and examines geopolitical, political, economic and business issues. We look at these issues from an Asian perspective; this distinguishes us from the mainstream English-language media, whose reporting on Asian matters is generally by Westerners, for Westerners. Our Chinese-language edition presents our articles to Chinese readers around the world.

We are served by more than 50 correspondents and contributors in 17 Asian countries, the US, and Europe. Additional content is provided by news services and renowned think tank and investment analysts and academics.

Asia Times Online was founded in the beginning of 1999 and is incorporated and duly registered in Hong Kong. It derives its revenues from advertising and the resale of original content to other publications and news services.

Historically, in our publication policy and editorial outlook, we are the successor of Asia Times, the Hong Kong/ Bangkok-based daily print newspaper founded in 1995 and associated with the Manager Media Group, which had to cease publication in the summer of 1997 as a result of the Asian financial crisis. Like its predecessor, Asia Times Online gives its readers worldwide an overview of Asian news events, looking behind the headlines that are the staple of the news agencies and networks.

Asia Times Online is reaching a rapidly increasing global readership. Our readers are people of influence - investors, executives, diplomats, academics, journalists - who need to know about Asian political, economic and business affairs. We have become a "must read" for Westerners and Asians who do business with each other.

Globalresearch.ca



The Centre for Research on Globalisation (CRG) is an independent research organization and media group of writers, scholars, journalists and activists. The CRG is based in Montreal. It is a registered non profit organization in the province of Quebec, Canada.

In addition to the Global Research website, the Centre is involved in book publishing, support to humanitarian projects as well as educational outreach activities including the organization of public conferences and lectures. The Centre also acts as a think tank on crucial economic and geopolitical issues.

The Global Research webpage at www.globalresearch.ca publishes news articles, commentary, background research and analysis on a broad range of issues, focussing on social, economic, strategic and environmental processes.

The Global Research website was established on the 9th of September 2001, two days before the tragic events of September 11. Barely a few days later, Global Research had become a major news source on the New World Order and Washington's "war on terrorism". Since September 2001, we have established an extensive archive of news articles, in-depth reports and analysis on issues which are barely covered by the mainstream media.

In an era of media disinformation, our focus has essentially been to center on the "unspoken truth".

During the invasion of Iraq (March-April 2003), Global Research published, on a daily basis, independent reports from the Middle East, which provided an alternative to the news emanating from the "embedded" journalists reporting from the war theater.

In early 2006, Global Research established a separate French language website, www.mondialisation.ca, which reaches Francophone readers in Western Europe, North America, sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East.

In 2007, we launched Spanish, Portuguese and German language pages, which contain translations of Global Research articles. Arabic and Serbian language pages were launched in 2008.

In 2008, Global Research launched the Global Research News Hour radio program, in collaboration with the Republic Broadcasting Network (RBN). The GRNH, broadcast by RBN out of Houston (Mon-Fri) provides a global perspective on what is happening in America and around the World, with noted guests sharing their expertise with listeners.

Global Research articles are used as source material by college and university students. Moreover, numerous universities, libraries and research institutions have established a link to Global Research on their respective web sites.

Global Research has also become a source of specialized information and analysis for journalists.

Since 2001, Global Research has established an international network of writers and analysts. Global Research counts among its regular contributors a number of prominent writers, researchers and academics as well as several promising young authors. Our data bank now includes a classification by author, and by country. Also of interest is an archive of audio-video material.

Global Research is classified by Alexa (the web-ranking organization), as The Number One Globalization Site.

Global Research is classified among the top 50 Alternative News Sources by www.World-Newspapers.com, among the best alternative news sources by alternativenews.net/. Global Research is also recommended as a resource by the American Library Association (ALA).

In 2008, Global Research was awarded The First National Prize of the Mexican Press Club, for the "best Research website" at the international level.

In the course of the last few years, several Global Research authors have received awards for their writings.

How you can Help Global Research

It is crucial that the articles published on Global Research reach a broad readership.

We encourage our readers to cross-post and/or forward Global Research articles, submit them to internet discussion groups, send them to your friends on your e-mail lists, etc. This will help Global Research in its endeavors.

While Global Research operates on a shoe string budget compared with the well-endowed establishment think tanks, it has more readers than the powerful Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) (see graph)

The REAL news network



The Real News Network is a television news and documentary network focused on providing independent and uncompromising journalism. Our staff, in collaboration with courageous journalists around the globe, will investigate, report and debate stories on the critical issues of our times. We are viewer supported and do not accept advertising, government or corporate funding.

As the economic crisis deepens, climate change approaches critical levels, and global tensions increase, the need to break the monopoly on television daily news has never been greater. We must know why the crisis is happening and what we can do to defend ourselves. Corporate TV news won’t ask the real questions, let alone provide answers.

The scale of the problems facing us demands original and profound solutions. If ‘necessity is the mother of invention’, get ready for an era of unprecedented imagination and innovation. But there will be no progress without a fight against forces wedded to the status quo. We are entering a period of action, where people take solutions into their own hands and create a bold vision for new ways of living and doing business. The Real News Network is such a solution; it’s the missing link in the global media landscape.

We need video news that cuts through the propaganda and spin with facts and context. But we need more than that. We must have journalism that reports on models for change and people getting organized seeking justice and transformation. We require a platform for the best minds on the planet to debate solutions and speak to millions of people. We need video news with the courage only economic independence provides, to follow facts fearlessly to rational conclusions.

Consortiumnews.com



We founded the Consortiumnews.com Web site in 1995, back in the "early days" of the modern Internet. The site was meant to be a home for important, well-reported stories that weren't welcome in the O.J. Simpson-obsessed, conventional-wisdom-driven national news media of that time.

As one of the reporters who helped expose the Iran-Contra scandal for the Associated Press in the mid-1980s, I was distressed by the silliness and downright creepiness that had pervaded American journalism by the mid-1990s. I feared, too, that the decline of the U.S. press corps foreshadowed disasters that would come when journalists failed to alert the public about impending dangers.

Also by 1995, documents were emerging that put the history of the 1980s in a new – and more troubling – light. Yet, there were fewer and fewer media outlets interested in that history. The memories of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush were enveloped in warm-and-fuzzy myths that represented another kind of danger: false history that could lead to mistaken political judgments in the future.

So, with my eldest son Sam serving as technical adviser (he was in his early 20s so the Internet didn't seem that strange to him), we started what we called "the Internet's first investigative 'Zine" in November 1995.

Some of our articles reexamined important chapters of the 1980s (such as the “October Surprise” controversy from Election 1980 and evidence of Nicaraguan contra-cocaine trafficking). Other stories explored current crises (such as the War in Kosovo and the impeachment assault on President Bill Clinton).

Author Norman Solomon and I produced a groundbreaking series on the real story behind Colin Powell's legend. Another series examined how Rev. Sun Myung Moon became an influential player in Washington. Working with talented freelance reporters around the world, we also undertook important historical investigations (such as how the Nazis after World War II -- crossing "rat lines" to South America -- contributed to the region’s bloody repression).

Interruption

By 1999 and early 2000, we were looking at the reemergence of the Bush family dynasty. However, as Campaign 2000 was heating up, we ran out of money. I was forced to make Consortiumnews.com a part-time enterprise and took an editing job at Bloomberg News. One of our last stories before that break described how the news media was exaggerating Vice President Al Gore’s alleged exaggerations.

Though operating on a part-time basis, we managed to churn out a number of stories in the months before Election 2000 and kept tabs on the recount battle with stories including how George W. Bush dispatched thugs to Miami to intimidate vote counters. In November 2001, we were the first to note that the big news outlets – which had conducted an unofficial recount of Florida’s ballots – had buried their own lead, the fact that Gore would have won Florida if all legal votes were counted.

In 2002, during the buildup to war in Iraq, we also picked up the pace, questioning the Bush administration's case about weapons of mass destruction and criticizing the flag-waving coverage from the mainstream news media. As the Iraq invasion was underway in March 2003, I consulted with some of my old military sources who recognized the disaster ahead. I entitled that article "Bay of Pigs Meets Black Hawk Down."

Also in 2003, author Kevin Phillips cited the investigative work of Consortiumnews.com in his seminal book on the Bush family, American Dynasty. Phillips took note of our investigative series that examined the elder George Bush's role in alleged Republican dirty tricks during the 1980 campaign.

Resumption

To flesh out more parts of the Bush family's rise to power, I left Bloomberg News in April 2004 and began work on my fourth book, Secrecy & Privilege: Rise of the Bush Dynasty from Watergate to Iraq. It was published in late September 2004.

In fall 2004, we also resumed more frequent publication of stories at Consortiumnews.com. One of those articles described John Kerry's pioneering investigation of contra-drug trafficking in the late 1980s. Since Nov. 2, we have written about the controversies surrounding Election 2004 and the political danger created by today’s media imbalance in the United States.

Indeed, a founding idea of the Consortium for Independent Journalism was that a major investment was needed in journalistic endeavors committed to honestly informing the American people about important events, no matter what the political and economic pressures.

While we are proud of the journalistic contribution that this Web site has made over the past decade – and while we are deeply grateful to our readers whose contributions have kept us afloat – we also must admit that we have not made the case well enough that this mission is a vital one.

Despite all that’s happened, including the ongoing disaster in Iraq, many people still don’t understand that the fight for honest information is a battle for the future of American democracy.