Thank you readers. Consortium News far surpassed its Winter Fundraising goal. Thank you also for voting on the top 10 stories of 2018. Here are the results.
Thanks to the generosity of our readers Consortium News blew past our $5o,000 Winter Fund Drive target. Our drive ran from Dec. 10 to Jan. 10. In that time we raised $91,867.00. We consider that a referendum on the job we are doing to bring you independent journalism in the tradition of Robert Parry, our founding editor.
Here are the top ten Consortium News stories of 2018 as voted on by readers. Each story that received a first place vote earned 10 points, second place got nine votes, third place eight votes down to tenth place, which netted one point. The winner received the most total points.
1. The Battle for Our Minds
2. The West is Failing Julian Assange
3. Letter from Britain: The Real Reason for the ‘Anti-Semite’ Campaign Against Jeremy Corbyn
4. Robert Parry’s Legacy and the Future of Consortium News
4. (Tied) How the Department of Homeland Security Created a Deceptive Tale of Russia Hacking US Voter Sites.
5. The Other Side of John McCain
6. How Yasser Arafat Led the Palestinians to Trump’s ‘Deal of the Century’
7. Distorting the Life of Bobby Kennedy
8. ‘A Very Different Journalist’: John Pilger’s Tribute to Bob Parry By John Pilger. 18 Total Points.
9. The Shaky Case That Russia Manipulated Social Media to Tip the 2016 Election
10. Letter from Britain—Lost in a Brexit Maze: a Baffled Political Class Dreads the Prospect of Jeremy Corbyn July 26, 2018 By Alexander Mercouris. 14 Total Points.
I think it is only fitting that Patrick Lawrence’s article received top honors, as it is my belief that the battle for control of the public mind is where much of the action will take place in the next few years.
With the advent of populism, and its “F*ck you!” anti-establishment vote for Trump, its Brexit vote, its Yellow Vest movement, and the recent Italian-Polish anti-immigration (anti-EU) initiative, it is shaping up to be a battle for all the marbles. And as the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, so aptly stated, “When it becomes serious, you have to lie”, and lie they will.
The high-tech internet firms are already ‘on-board’ with their surveillance, censorship, and defunding schemes. Soon a throng of info-war profiteers (like Integrity Initiative and NewsGuard) will spring up to get a cut of the $billions that will be up for grabs. This will place alternative media sites like CN directly in the crosshairs. From there it seems only a short hop before Congress enacts legislation to classify anything which counters the establishment narrative as either hate-speech, treasonous, or just plain illegal.
A very good result
Congratulations! We all still miss Robert Parry, but it’s great to see that his legacy lives on this strong. I’m proud of you all who made this happen and keep Consortium News alive and strong!
Congratulations to Joe, the editors and staff, and the Parry family for the decision to keep the site alive.
Discovered this new site. Add it to your list of private internet investigative warriors. We at codeforeblog believe in Consortium News and the work you are doing but there are thousands of us who, in our own small way, have ‘boots on the ground’ in the battle against corruption and for open government. We demand no more across the board secrets in all of our governments. We also believe in Assange and think that if Trump doesn’t save this man he will regret it later because the ‘boots on the ground’ will not forget.
Congratulations you deserve every cent. You’re probably presenting the most important stories in the World at this time. Thank you.