Joined by Sibel Edmonds, founder and publisher of BoilingFrogsPost, and Pepe Escobar, the acclaimed globetrotting journalist, we announce our plan to launch Newsbud this year, an independent, crowdfunded news outlet.This is the first in a series of podcasts to introduce the ideas and talent behind Newsbud. The concept surfaced in a discussion last fall on the BoilingFrogsPost Roundtable, and Edmonds has recruited a global team of reporters, producers, videographers and social media operators to build an independent news service for the 21st Century.
[This was intended to be a video podcast, but the new software used to record the Skype conference needs more tweaking.]
You'll hear us discuss the obvious failings of corporate and "public" media in the US, linked to their business models. Commercial news operations are compromised by ratings, advertisers, and the need to maintain access to official sources. "Public" media like PBS and NPR are compromised by foundations and government funding, and forms of self-censorship.
Newsbud will be funded initially by a Kickstarter campaign, and then through low-cost subscriptions. Your role is critical in Newsbud's success!
In our conversation, we touch on 2 examples: the Hastert case, and coverage of Israel. BoilingFrogsPost provided the most detailed information on the corruption of former GOP Speaker Dennis Hastert, while the corporate media barely scratched the surface. And a recent "hard-hitting" PBS Frontline documentary on Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's efforts to scuttle Congressional approval of the multination deal with Iran did not even mention that Israel has hundreds of nuclear weapons. Escobar explains that al Jazeera refused to publish a column he wrote about Israel.
Near the end, we play portions of a song called Monster by Steppenwolf, which chronicles America's political unraveling. Escobar mentioned it in his new book 2030: A Letter to My Grandson, and it sparks comments about the need to work together, reject "learned helplessness" and change the media in 2016 with Newsbud!
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