It’s hard to believe that I have been publishing online for 20 years, from September 5, 1998, as Online Journal and, in early February 2011, rebranded as Intrepid Report.
I couldn’t have done it without the many writers who contributed their work and the readers who supported us with their donations because I didn’t seek or want corporate or foundation funding.
As a journalist and former newspaper editor, I was fed up with the consolidation of the news media into fewer and fewer corporate hands. It came to the point that I couldn’t abide corporate control of the newsroom and, as much as I loved my chosen field, I could no longer work in an environment where my corporate controllers even told me, as editor, what adjectives and nouns I could not put in headlines, and if I wanted to endorse general election candidates, I had to put justifications in writing for their approval or disapproval.
What to do? This was happening throughout the country and the people were and are being deprived of the information they need to make informed decisions. The Internet was in its infancy in 1998 and few independent news sources online. Then I met online Jane Wardlow Prettyman, a former Esquire magazine editor, who was publishing The Real News Page. Jane encouraged me to start Online Journal and, although she is no longer with us, I shall always be grateful for her encouragement and support.
In late 2010, I felt the name Online Journal was too tame given the turbulence and loss of freedoms the corporate media were either not reporting, underreporting or whitewashing, so I rebranded as Intrepid Report in early 2011.
While no one knows if the Chinese are the actual source, it is accepted that there is a Chinese curse that says, “May you live in interesting times.” Indeed, we live in interesting times. So interesting, given what is going on, that like Missy Comley Beattie, I find it hard to write about it. Thank goodness for the writers who can and submit their articles.
Intrepid Report is solely reader supported. While it is hard for me to ask readers for money, ask I must. Enough has been coming in to pay the bills but not enough for equipment replacement or an upgrade to the web site. Maybe I don’t ask often enough? I know times are tough for many and I worry that those who can least afford it donate—yet, the politicians and PACs have no compunction about filling our mailboxes daily with requests for donations that who knows what they spend it on. So ask I must and if you can’t afford to donate, please just tell others about Intrepid Report.
My deepest gratitude to Intrepid Report’s writers and readers.
Bev Conover is the editor and publisher of Intrepid Report. Email her at editor@intrepidreport.com.
Bev,
Congratulations on such a noble and courageous undertaking. Knowing you are there is such a comfort. I know I will learn what I need to learn to stay sane and grounded in an insane world. You, more than anyone, will publish the difficult articles, the ones that say what needs to be said even if no one wants to hear it.
Thank you so much.
Very Best Wishes,
Arthur Robbins