The Narco News Bulletin

A Letter to Narco News Readers from Uruguayan Journalist Raúl Zibechi

"It Would Be a Real Loss for this Project to Be Unable to Continue"

By Raúl Zibechi

September 19, 2005
This report appears on the internet at http://www.narconews.com/Issue39/article1453.html

Dear Readers,

The truly alternative communication media, those that not only give voice to the voiceless but also do so from anti-hegemonic positions, face enormous difficulties in surviving. We journalists who work in those media don't enjoy high salaries, or most times even permanent ones. Neither states nor private companies usually advertise in these media, which submits them to a state of nearly constant economic strangulation. Job instability and lack of security in terms of their future, almost always impede the planning of their work and their ability to have a minimum standard of quality in order to "compete" in such a large and competitive market.

The Narco News online newspaper is an exception, in terms of the quality of its reports, the rigorousness of the information, the commitment of its subject who are the most immersed in social issues, and its notable capacity to carry out investigations that necessarily use up time and resources.

As such, it would be a real loss to alternative, authentic communication for this project to be unable to continue due to lack of resources, which are not usually a problem for the well-financed large media.

And so I invite you to make a donation online here:

http://www.authenticjournalism.org/

Or send your checks to this address:

The Fund for Authentic Journalism
P.O. Box 241
Natick, MA 01760 USA

Fraternally,

Raúl Zibechi
Editor de Internacionales
Brecha (Uruguay)
http://www.brecha.com.uy/

Uruguyan journalist Raúl Zibechi received the José Martí award in July for his reporting on Argentina. Editor of the International section of the weekly Brecha and a researcher of Latin American social movements, he is the author of the book Genealogía de la revuelta ("Genealogy of the Revolt"), a complete analysis and investigation of the resistance movements that were born out of the heat of December 19-20. It is not easy to find in the bookstores, but you can contact the publisher directly by writing to letra_libre@yahoo.com.ar. He has also written La mirada horizontal ("The Horizontal Stare: Social Movements and Emancipation," 1999), La revuelta juvenil de los 90 ("The Youth Revolt of the 1990s: Social Networks and the Development of an Alternative Culture" 1997), and Los Arroyos Cuando Bajan ("The Streams When They Come Down: The Chalenges of Zapatismo," 1995).

Read his recent essay South America's New Miltarism.