Message to readers
Confronting the corporate media
Published Jul 18, 2008 12:02 AM
From the editors of Workers World
Last month we published an article detailing how Workers World articles are
being read, translated if necessary and reproduced all around the world by
dozens of publications, Web site managers and bloggers hungry for news from
U.S.-based revolutionary media that combats the lies churned out by the
corporate monopoly media machine. This article will report some reactions and
update that report.
We are not disinterested reporters. That so many people in so many places want
to read, translate and publish what we have written tells us we are
succeeding—up to a point. If we can encourage others to help promote
these articles and analyses, we can get beyond that point.
We know ours is a minority opinion within the United States. Now. We are
equally sure we speak to the needs and interests of the vast majority of
workers and oppressed people.
The most-read and -discussed recent article has likely been Larry Holmes’
analysis of the Barack Obama candidacy. Holmes explains, without flinching,
both sides of the contradictory Obama phenomenon. His writings have been
reproduced on U.S.-based blogs and have opened online discussions. They have
also been translated for the prestigious Portuguese magazine, Seara Nova. The
newspaper of the Workers Party of Belgium (ptb.be) interviewed Holmes for a
major in-depth article on Obama, along with Mick Kelly from the Freedom Road
Socialist Organization.
Abayomi Azikiwe’s articles analyzing the U.S.-British attacks against
Zimbabwe’s government have confronted ruling class opinion head-on. The
monopoly corporate media have been so overwhelming in their lies that even
progressive and/or social-democratic media have wavered or succumbed to the
pressure by insulting Zimbabwe’s government and President Robert
Mugabe.
Azikiwe’s articles provide relief from this drivel, and have been emailed
widely from the workers.org site. Because of Azikiwe’s reputation as
editor of the Pan African Newswire (panafricannews.blogspot.com), many sites
have reproduced his articles, including edstrong.blog-city.com,
indymedia.org.uk, blackstarnews.com and assatashakur.org.
Some WW analyses lead to action. For example, Sara Flounders’ article,
“U.S. behind Israel’s war threats on Iran,” has helped impel
the mobilization for protests next Aug. 2 called by the stopwaroniran.org site.
This article has not only been published on many U.S. sites, but was translated
into Portuguese for the resistir.info site and into French for
michelcollon.info and ptb.be.
Our last report got a response from the editors of the Workers Action newspaper
in the Ukraine, letting us know they had translated six of our articles in June
into Russian for publication on their site, proletar.org.ua. The articles
included two by Jaimeson Champion on economic questions, part one of David
Hoskins’ series on health care, Caleb Maupin on Che Guevara and managing
editor LeiLani Dowell’s article on Midwest flooding. All four authors are
members of FIST, a youth organization. The sixth article was G. Dunkel’s
on inter-imperialist rivalry in Africa.
Walter Lippmann, who sends out articles related to revolutionary Cuba to an
extensive mailing list, distributed and praised Dolores Cox’s open letter
to Barack Obama—after the candidate’s appearance before the Miami
counterrevolutionaries—for its approach in reaching a broad audience. He
also lauded a podcast talk by Deirdre Griswold on the earthquake in China for
its attention to factual detail.
Another open letter, the one that Larry Hales wrote to Branford Marsalis urging
him not to perform in Israel, was emailed extensively and picked up by
www.odsg.org. Berta Joubert-Ceci’s article on Colombia and the so-called
rescue of Ingrid Betancourt appeared on the workers.org site July 14 and
reappeared later that day on plurmentalchaket.blogspot.com, a Mexican site.
It helps to be on time and on target. Tobias Grace, editor of Out in Jersey
magazine—“New Jersey’s largest queer
publication”—emailed us that it was only by picking up a WW at the
New York Pride Parade that the magazine staff learned of the court victory of
two of the Jersey 4 lesbian political prisoners. Out in Jersey quoted LeiLani
Dowell’s article extensively in their next edition (outinjersey.net),
with WW’s permission and solidarity.
A Google search found that other WW news articles have shown up on sites with
specific interests, such as a particular political prisoner or a labor
organization. Sites we found are Amerikanka.net, palestinethinktank.com,
bintjbeil.com, warresisters.blogspot.com, queerswithoutborders.com,
newstrust.net, opednews.com, nwo101.com, Itsabouttime.com,
the-peoples-forum.com, soldiersofsolidarity.com, abpnoticias.com, and
tongilkorea.net. The San Francisco Bay View also picked up a WW article.
We also acknowledge axisoflogic.com, The New Worker in Britain and the Pan
African News Wire, which regularly republish WW articles, and Michel Mounayer
in Damascus, who for years has translated many WW articles on the Middle East
for republication in The Ba’ath and other Syrian newspapers.
A future report to readers will discuss Mundo Obrero, our Spanish-language
edition. If you can report on other sites that use WW articles or have ideas on
how to reach out, write to [email protected].
Articles copyright 1995-2012 Workers World.
Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium without royalty provided this notice is preserved.
Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011
Email:
[email protected]
Subscribe
[email protected]
Support independent news
DONATE