Independent Media

In an effort to fight the corporate domination of the communication media in the United States, we are compiling a collection of links to independent news sources. If you are unfamiliar with the independent media, then be prepared to marvel at how much more information these groups can provide with fewer resources. We have attempted to offer a brief description of each source's perspective while avoiding subjective evaluations of its quality. In keeping with their independent (and often grassroots) origin, most of these news sites would be considered left-of-center by the mainstream political community. This is not particularly telling, however, as most U.S. citizens would also be classified as leftists by the mainstream politic, which has drifted so far right that it's now running around in circles.

Daily News

• Christian Science Monitor -- Respected daily international newspaper published by the First Church of Christ, Scientists in Boston, MA (no, it is not a religious periodical)
• The Guardian -- UK daily owned by a charitable trust committed to editorial independence; also offers a weekly periodical for international readers
• Huffington Post -- Daily Internet newspaper, no longer independent but not entirely co-opted by the corporate nexus, either

Periodicals

• The Atlantic -- Privately-owned periodical focusing on cultural commentary
• Mother Jones -- Nonprofit investigative periodical named for Mary Harris Jones, a prominent American labor and community organizer
• The Nation -- Independent progressive periodical, described by some as the 'flagship of the left'

Media Organizations

• Independent Media Center -- Collective of independent media organizations and journalists
• Institute for Public Accuracy -- Attempts to improve the quality of public discourse by providing reliable information to media agencies and journalists

Public Media

These reporting agencies are not actually independent, but they are at least publicly owned. As Chomsky has argued, this doesn't always mean much, as corporate interests are continuing to invest their resources in controlling the state. Still, we consider them a step above corporate media, even if they are still several below the independents.

• BBC -- Extensive public media outlet in the UK, a good place to find out what their ruling class thinks of ours
• Good News Agency -- A resource run by an NGO working with the United Nations Department of Public Information to report positive news resulting from activities by the UN, NGOs and volunteer organizations
• National Public Radio -- State-operated news source in the U.S. that is increasingly becoming corporately subsidized