A Unique Thank-You Gift

From Editor Robert Parry: As a unique thank-you gift for our spring drive, we are offering a DVD of last year’s feature film “Kill the Messenger” telling the tragic story of how the mainstream U.S. news media destroyed journalist Gary Webb plus a CD of Webb and me discussing the Contra-cocaine scandal in 1996.

That troubling scandal and the role of major U.S. newspapers in covering up U.S. government complicity marked a disturbing turning point in the course of American democracy, as it became clear that the American people could no longer trust the mainstream press to serve as a watchdog on government.

It was my recognition of that turn after a career at AP, Newsweek and PBS Frontline including work exposing the Contra-cocaine scandal in 1985 that led me to start Consortiumnews.com as a home for independent investigative journalism that put informing the public ahead of cozying up to officialdom.

As a thank-you gift for donations of $150 or more, you can get the just-released DVD of “Kill the Messenger,” starring Jeremy Renner as the late Gary Webb, and a CD of a 1996 joint appearance by Webb and Robert Parry discussing the Contra-cocaine scandal.

To keep this Web site going, we are trying to raise $35,000 in our spring fund drive and we are offering the DVD/CD gift to people who donate $150 or more. If you can’t give that much, we’d be happy to send you the CD of Webb and me for whatever you can afford to give.

To donate to our tax-exempt non-profit, you can use a credit card online (we accept Visa, Mastercard or Discover) or you can mail a check to Consortium for Independent Journalism (CIJ); 2200 Wilson Blvd., Suite 102-231; Arlington VA 22201. For readers wanting to use PayPal, you can address contributions to our account, which is named after our e-mail address: “consortnew @ aol.com”. (Since we are a 501-c-3 non-profit, donations by American taxpayers may be tax-deductible.)

If you wish to get one of the thank-you gifts, just follow up your donation with an email to us at [email protected] with instructions on where to mail it. We’ll pay the shipping charges.

Another way to help Consortiumnews survive is to buy my three-book trilogy on the Bush dynasty Secrecy & Privilege, Neck Deep and America’s Stolen Narrative for the discount price of only $34, less than half the cover price. Just go to Consortiumnews.com’s “Donate” button and make a $34 “donation” using Visa, Mastercard or Discover. We will read a “donation” of that amount as an order for the trilogy. If your mailing address is the same as your credit card billing address, we will ship the books to that address. If your mailing address is different, just send us an e-mail at [email protected] and we will make the adjustment.

You can also take advantage of this trilogy offer by mailing a check for $34 to The Media Consortium; 2200 Wilson Blvd.; Suite 102-231; Arlington VA 22201. Or you can use our PayPal account, “consortnew @ aol.com.” Just make sure you include your mailing address in the message. (A portion of each sale will go to support our investigative journalism.)

For U.S. orders of the trilogy, we will pay for the shipping. (Regrettably, this three-book offer can only be made for the United States because of increased international postal rates.)

Another contribution option is to donate stock or other equities, which can offer a tax advantage to you if the stock has appreciated in value. If this stock-donation option appeals to you, I suggest you discuss it with your broker and then contact me at [email protected] for specific instructions on how to transfer the stock.

Again, thanks for your support and for making our nearly two decades of honest journalism possible.

Robert Parry is a longtime investigative reporter who broke many of the Iran-Contra stories for the Associated Press and Newsweek in the 1980s. He founded Consortiumnews.com in 1995 to create an outlet for well-reported journalism that was being squeezed out of an increasingly trivialized U.S. news media.