Become an FDL Member and Kick Our A$$ If We Ever Act Like NPR
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When Jane first invited you to become a founding member of Firedoglake, she made an analogy to NPR.
Last year, Craig Newmark of Craigslist said he thinks that by the year 2020, NPR will be a “dominant force” in media because of their membership model.
“I have a feeling that membership models and philanthropy models will be stronger than advertising-supported organizations, because people are willing to pay for trustworthy news,” he said.
We agree.
That’s not quite right. Sure, like NPR, we aim to build financial stability over time and with it continue to do solid reporting. Like NPR, we hope to create a real community with our readers. And SWAG … We’ve got SWAG!
But in the last three days, an NPR executive got caught on film speaking the truth. Impolitely speaking the truth, but it was the truth. And rather than stand up for the truth of the statement, the ultimate target of the attack, Vivian Schiller, was forced out.
When faced with the choice of defending the truth or capitulating to fear, NPR capitulated.
Now, I’m grateful to the FDL community–from Jane to our readers–for supporting me in the past when I have spoken the truth a bit impolitely.
I’m even more grateful, though, for the courage that you give–and demand–of us. We talk with you directly in threads. We listen. We take your concerns seriously. And we know that if we ever hinted of capitulation in the face of fear, we’d hear about it!
That’s part of what membership in FDL is all about: holding us accountable, steeling our spines, giving us energy to take on the tough battles.
By asking you to become a member of FDL, we’re hoping to build the financial stability to keep doing what we’re doing. But we’re also looking to formalize the relationship in which you, our readers, ensure the integrity of what we do.
Become a founding member of FDL–and earn the right to kick our a$$ if we ever grow complacent.
Did it. Bought one for someone else. NEITHER of us have our tshirts yet. Whom do I complain to?
Boxturtle (I’ll want that money back if FDL ever ‘forces out’ anyone for telling the truth)
Thank you!
McCaffrey the MilleniaLab just told me he was going to kick my ass if he doesn’t get his walk NOW. So I’m going to go do that. Be back soon.
I have been generously gifted a membership! I will kick ass if anybody falls to the depths of propaganda nooze!
I can’t wait to get my shirt. I know it will take some time, but I’m so darn excited I want it now. You have no idea how much I want to wear into the RED city here!
Yep, FDL is an island of sanity in a world out of control. The MSM is bought and paid for and only succeeds to raise my BP. A membership here is good for your heart and soul.
Ut oh! Your blood pressure isn’t rising with all that we report here? You must be exercising or something.
Thank you!
Exercising is all that keeps me from blowing up.
Member. Thanks so much.
Count me in. FDL is precious and I am proud to support it. I am just waiting for the phone call n ow. :-)
I have just been informed that I have an anonymous benefactor who has purchased a membership for me.
Thank you.
Citizen Darkine:
Didn’t know you needed a hand up…next time let your people know when ya need sumpthin’ for God’s sake coulda taken care of it a couple a days ago.
Thanks Norske. I just try not to make too much of a big deal about it as I know there are millions who are in far worse shape than I (as I tried to point out at my sucky little blog last year).
It’s just that as one of the long term underemployed, my limited means go to keeping me alive and for the most part keeping the wolves away from the door leaving nothing available for want-to-have things such as an FDL membership.
Citizen Darkine01:
Consider yourself “alive” as long as you come to the dinner table here…and don’t make the rest of the family guess when ya need sumpthin.
I will not kick anyone’s…. if they start to behave like a celebrity I would simply stop reading their material. Simply put I get lot more information from FDL than NYTimes, WAshPost, and Guardian combined. It is a heck of a deal. I am going to be an FDL member now and try to solicit to my trusted friends.
What all have already said x2!!!!
This is the first place I go for news. Keep up the great work. I support FDL 100% and promise to let you know if I think anyone of you are not being honest.
AND THE KILLIN’ GOEZ ON AND ON AND…
Citizen emptywheel:
“Become a founding member of FDL-and earn the right to kick our A$$ if we ever grow complacent.”
Been there and done that Sister Marcy but could you folks in the FDL high command put a graphic up with the running totals – members and dollars – and run it on the headline banner. Some of us who have been lookin forward to this day would be interested in lookin at a bit of the demographics as we move into the next incarnation of FDL history.
KEEP THE FAITH AND PASS THE AMMUNITION, NOW YOU HAVE NO EXCUSES!!
I will make sure the powers that bee see that.
Unfortunately NPR lost its teeth somewhere along the way and I could care less what happens to it. Looking how Jane’s last appearance on MSNBC and how she didn’t raise that Bradley Manning’s situation wasn’t merely because he was being held in solitary confinement, but due to the systematic torture he is receiving on a nightly basis. The compromises she makes to be part of the discussion in the MSM makes me question how long FDL can resist the same fate as NPR.
Citizen wirecat1:
No, I think that losin’ the last link to publically (tax) supported communications is a step further back into the Randian Golden Age of the 19th century. We will never get back to a place where all the citizens of the country can contribute and count on a source of information that is responsive to ALL and not just the monied few AND ultimately hold that souce accountable both through individual support and public scruntiny. We have fucked up citizen supported communication that is a thread in the fabric of a democratic community and until we get capitalism under control well will never get it back.
Thanks to Loo Hoo, TalkingTick, maadcet and lurkinlill for supporting us–and for the anonymous benefactors of PeasantParty and dankine.
I am experiencing some problems while trying to become a member online. I hope other folks are not getting the same error/message as I am getting ( Could not create a subscription for maadcet@…..: Plan not found — (404).) After three attempts I called DC office helpline and left a message.
Glad to have become a member and will defend you guys to the ends of the Earth against the Obamabots.
We are FDL.
We are legion.
We do not forgive.
We do not forget.
Expect us.
Good lord! MSNBC obsessed with how much money this quake is going to cost people. In the five minutes or so I had the stomach to watch, not one mention about death or injury or suffering, it was all about the money.
Reference to # 15
The problem seems to be firefox browser.
Thanks for bringing up this point. The money I spent on joining FDL is money that will NOT be going to NPR. I’m not trying to be petty. I want them to know, their “balance” is off. When the presididn’t talks single payer out of one side of his mouth and works toward cementing and expanding the current extortion scheme in the halls of power, I want them to call him on it. The same goes for executive power, the suspension of habeas corpus, extra-ordinary renditions, licensed assassinations, continuing the obscene waste (in lives as well as dollars) of occupying countries to maintain the profit margins of energy corporations, doing the prep work for even more give-aways to the energy corps for nuclear power, undermining social security, etc. (this list is too long and getting longer).
I expect hard-hitting reporting.
I expect an in-depth analysis of how OUR representatives are NOT ours, at all.
I, apparently, expect too much.
If they continue to contribute to the ignorance of the people of this country by failing their duty to report on such things with a commitment to the PEOPLE of this country as opposed to some notion of “balanced reporting” where the fulcrum is constantly moving to the right, they can dry up and blow away just like the useless democratic party can. I’m not interested in wasting my energy on fighting battles staged by, and stacked in favor of, the bad guys. I vote with my feet and wallet. Do what’s right and you’ll have my support. Undermine that, and expect only resistance.
Kick some ass FDL.
I’ve made the suggestion of a permanent swag shop for regular cash flow for FDL… don’t want to be like NPR? Let’s avoid those endless begging marathons of guilt-tripping.
Mrs. Shaw listens to NPR sometimes and there are now and then some great shows but the rightie spin and the namby-pamby butt-kissing sends me out of the room covering my ears. Classic suck-up to source.
FDL is where I find the uncomfortable questions allied with the actual links to the facts and I respect many contributors’ activism. As soon as an organization develops certain layers of bureaucracy, the rules and regs begin to dominate the creative, edgier attitudes.
So if Ms. Wheeler now and then uses her potty-mouth I love it!
Noble sentiments. It seems to me the moderation policies at MyFDL are quite a bit like the employment policies at NPR.
Call me a Fan Boy. FDL rules in depth, breadth and quality. I consider it a privilege to contribute albeit in a limited way. Thanks for all you do, one and all.
I read that Ron Schiller was the manager of fund-raising activities for NPR. Does that mean that he was never on-air and had no input on news and editorial content?
If so, then how could he possibly introduce bias into NPR programming?
The vilification of liberals and Democrats is a routine practice at Fox News, so the conserva-tards ought to be told to clean up their own damned act before criticizing anyone else. They’re just projecting anyway.
I do come to FDL often. I have tried to get a response by email for the last week. Since no one at FDL has responded, I know the answer, however, with all of the back patting, I would like FDL to show that responses are given instead of studiously ignoring a “constituent.”
Emptywheel…could you help answer me this…
Made this comment in regards to BoxTurtle’s announcement post:
Still no answer about how to donate my graphics expertise…am I disliked around here or something?
Best. Headline. Ever.
Also:
And Marcy, we know exactly of which you speak!! And we wish you could speak it again on MSNBC.
Marcy, I love you more than my luggage, and almost as much as my automatic icemaker. ;o)
I have been upset at MyFDL’s moderation (or maybe over-moderation) lately, and no info about those who have been banned, or why, as in ‘What rules did they break?’ I feel wary, as though I could be banned and not know why, and if it might be from a mod’s personal/political bias.
Anyhoo. You are a jaw-dropping analyst and write like a breeze about issues crucial to us, and the site is fortunate to have you; we all are.
Also: blowjob.
Hilarious as a stand-alone comment, Teddy!
Sorry, FDL’s too much the Democratic “apologist” for me to provide a blanket endorsement. I’d subscribe to Marci & Jon, they have repeatedly shown themselves to be among the very best the internet offers. And, I have given to FDL & will continue to do so as efforts warrant. But, I’m opposed to joining anything & everyone who,come election day, finds a reason to vote for the Incumbents who forget Democratic ideals the moment they get to Washington.
Dave Edwards, NPR’s board chairman, was interviewed on NPR this morning about the Schiller firing. It was a pathetic, glib, unsurprisingly optimistic take on how great the NPR staff are rallying around his decision to cut and run from dishonest criticism aimed at destroying his organization.
One point illustrates the madness to Edwards’ method. He said he couldn’t watch the entire James O’Keefe sting tape because it made him sick. He blindly assumed that it accurately depicted the views of his fundraiser, Ron Schiller, and presumably, his CEO, Vivian Schiller, who wasn’t an object of the sting. After all, it was on film! He never stopped to consider that it was a doctored video, that it took those comments out of context. Assuming he found out about his error, he seems to have hidden his ignorance as if it were a torture tape from Thailand.
Edwards failed Journalism 101 by not checking his sources. But he did follow the Shirley Sherrod model, which Obama copied from the American CEO’s handbook: he assumed his own staff must be wrong – why else would anyone criticize his little old NPR – and immediately fired the first one he found.
Edwards must fantasize that that will make neocon performance artists like Breitbart and O’Keefe give up and go away. In reality, it will make them wealthier and hungrier for a bigger piece of NPR. Edwards’ thinking is as fantastic as Obama’s, who thinks that the laundry list of concessions he intends to give to Mitch McConnell and John Boehner will make the GOP decide not to oppose his bid for re-election.
As for my joining FDL, I’m afraid it’s not on the cards. “Aristocratic” fortunes being what they are, an entry-level membership is half a tank of petrol I’m unable to do without. My comments will continue unabated.
Tried to do it this afternoon. Not sure what happened – when I clicked join, I was brought back to the form, but all the blanks were empty. I’m going to wait till Tuesday to see if my account has been debited, and if not I’ll try again.