Have you ever wondered why there is no such thing as a daily, progressive publication that delivers hard news - one that covers world events, public policy and social movements from a fresh, critical perspective?

Have you ever wondered why there is no independent counterpart to the major newspapers, no outlet that foregoes the fluff and spectacle of corporate media instead choosing to focus its coverage on the events and policies relevant to people’s everyday lives?

Have you ever wondered why no one has stepped up to provide viable alternatives for professional journalists who are stuck in the commercial machinery of the major media, self-censoring and softening their coverage of important events?

Or have you wondered why alternative media organizations do not have the funding to adequately support grassroots journalists struggling to bring unreported and underreported news to a public deprived of relevant information?

Have you ever wondered why, given that corporate media outlets funded by advertisements and stockholders are inherently corrupted by the profit motive, no one has constructed a nonprofit, anti-commercial alternative?

You probably have.

If you’ve wondered long enough, you’ve probably realized that the obstacles to creating a progressive, daily news source are immense. Without advertisements, it’s hard to generate significant revenue. And without money coming in, it’s impossible to fairly compensate editors, journalists, photographers and others for quality news coverage.

You’ve probably also concluded that if it could be done, it would have already been done. So, if you’re like us, daunted by the obstacles, you may have put the idea to rest.

But for us, the idea never sat well at rest. It was too compelling. So we’re doing it.

We started with a set of values - principles we thought any news organization with real integrity should be founded upon: relevance, diversity, participation, empowerment and accessibility.

Everyone knows ideals don’t fare well in the harsh world of media. Advertisers and ideologues maul them. We decided to uphold them.

In order to insulate our values from greed and dogma, we formed a new kind of media institution: collectively structured, participatory, anti-commercial, not-for-profit - independent even from big foundations and their attached strings. The organization is called PeoplesNetWorks.

Its first major undertaking launched in January: The NewStandard, a subscription-funded online newspaper.

In its first month of operation, The NewStandard published more than 100 news articles, news briefs, cartoons and commentaries. Our focus on hard news reporting and attention to accuracy and integrity set us apart from almost every other information resource on the Web.

And this is just the beginning.

We have plans to triple the amount of content we publish, increase the number of independent journalists we provide work for, and add tons of new features, such as chatrooms, reader forums, and news aggregators.

But we cannot do it without your help. We know if you’ve read this far it’s because you too are fed up with the corporate media and long for a real alternative. Now is your chance to help make it happen. Please visit us on-line at

http://newstandardnews.net

If you like what you see, we hope you will donate to help us establish a new standard for independent news.

To donate to PeoplesNetWorks, you can use our secure online form at our website, or write/send a check or money order (US funds only) to:

PeoplesNetWorks

203 Bassett St.

Syracuse, NY 13210 USA

Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

Jessica Azulay

Simone Baribeau

Brian Dominick

The PeoplesNetWorks Collective