and see some of the alternative news stories and truth about what is really going on in the world
and not the bullshit they tell us on Sky / Fox or any of the other corporate news stations.
NEW MEDIA NEEDED - WILL YOU HELP ?
Old media is collapsing, with major newspapers going bankrupt and those left standing too often beholden to big corporate owners and advertisers. The resulting "news," when not skewed to suit the interests of a few, is often superficial and disempowering -- constantly reporting problems without offering solutions or opportunities to act.
Our world is facing historic crises, and we need to build a media that can rise to the challenge -- a media powered by people, not big business.
With almost 15 million email subscribers, the readership of Avaaz is bigger than most of world's biggest news publications. That's why we're launching the Avaaz Daily Briefing, a website to provide the news that really matters to the global citizen, with deep insights and ideas of what we can do about the challenges facing our world.
An astonishing 97% of our community voted for this idea in our annual poll last January. We've spent months shaping the concept and recruiting an initial team of top journalists, and now we're ready to scale up and get started! If 20,000 of us donate just a small amount each right now, we'll have enough to fund the first 6 months of this exciting new big idea. Click here to make it happen:
We often lobby governments to be accountable to people, but the truth is that politicians often dance to the media's tune, and the media can be even more powerful than governments in shaping the way the world is. Just this week, two UK prime ministers are testifying before a public inquiry scrambling to explain just how much influence Rupert Murdoch, the world's largest media baron, has had over the British government. And that's just the tip of the iceberg -- a handful of corporate media barons own far too much of the media, and abuse that power for political favours.
Even when the owner isn't meddling, media are sometimes fearful of offending corporate advertisers and sponsors. More subtly, the media as a profession has in some countries become dominated by a cynical and toxic culture that focuses on trafficking in smears and muckraking more than creating honest public understanding. It's easily manipulated by slick PR firms, and invests too little in the deep investigative journalism that democracy needs to stay healthy. There are many good journalists in the world who answer this calling, but the media system as a whole isn't able to support them and too often fails us. But our community, including people in every part of every country on earth, could become the next wave of the world's correspondents, and build a trusted new people-powered record of the world.
If we don't act now, the information that shapes the views of voters, politicians and our children's generation will be owned and controlled by a few, driven by profit instead of the public interest. It's time for the media to move into the non-profit sector, run by organizations with public missions. Maybe that's where the media always belonged in the first place, and Avaaz should lead the way. Let's make it happen -- chip in to help launch the Avaaz Daily Briefing:
The march of democracy that is sweeping our world is remaking many of our old institutions. For 5 years now we have worked to reform politics and government in many countries, with increasing numbers of successes. But increasingly we find that politics and media are two sides of the same coin, that one cannot change without change in the other. The truth is, we as people are governed as much by media as we are by governments. And it's time to take them both back.
With hope,
Ricken, Luis, David, Morgan, Ian, Mary, Alaphia, and the entire Avaaz team
P.S. take a sneak peak at the early stages of the Daily Briefing HERE but don’t forget to donate:DONATE HERE
and please do not leave it up to someone - anyone else -
as that is why nothing gets done in life...
' oh someone else will do it .'
Comment by John Bellamy
'The trouble in life is - who do you trust ? Is a new news media going to be as bad as the old, and who is this new body who is saying all the right things and asking for our donations, and are they to be as manuipulative and full of bullshit and lies as the old ?
What I do know, is that if you do nothing, and you sit on your fat ass and say and do bugger all - the old will survive and you damned well deserve all the problems that you get.
By doing nothing you buy into the way they run things and you give your permission through your lack of action and nothing changes and they 'get on with it' and everyone suffers - and all because you did nothing.
But by standing up and saying 'NO' - of voicing your dissatisfaction - lending your voice to the mass who want change and even if not joining marches and sending out e mails and being part of a movement for change - by simply putting your name to an e mail petition - like these here - YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
I am always amazed after 50 years of fighting for equality; for gay rights; the ban of Clause 28 and so much more that gay men and women have fought for;- how it is that so many are as shallow and vacuous and 'don't care a toss' about anyone or anything unless it personally affects their lifestyle - and many seem to have forgotten that there are many countries where they do not have equaity and where peoples lives are trodden on by the state and where life is hard, and the feelings of solidarity for many has long flown the nest.
Be it gay or straight, political, religious, corporate bullies and murder of the truth by super rich media tycoons manipulating the truth to suit hidden agendes, WE MUST - EVERY ONE OF US - TAKE AN INTEREST - FIND OUT WHAT IS GOING ON - VOICE OUR DISCONTENT AND IF WHERE NEEDED - DEMAND CHANGE - otherwise you deserve the corrupt media, politicians, corporate bullies and all that is wrong with 'the system' - and if you claim that you cannot make a difference - just look at Ghandi and how one man changed an entire continent. It only takes one volice in the crowd - and that voice may be yours.'
NEVER BE AFRAID OF YOUR OWN VOICE
I appreciate this is not the kind of reading you will normally find on a hotels web site, but then, this is not your normal hotel. I often say that Hamilton Hall is an ALTERNATIVE TRUTH CENTRE - a venue that will get you thinking, get your gray cells working and some original thoughts churning over. All too often people do not think - they do not have an opinion and they do not formulate plans and ideas other for their every day life and those of us who do take a more keen interest and wish to share with others, are called opionated - and thank God some of us are.
Too many are vacuous - shallow - uncaring about anyone or anything except their own hedonistic lifestyle and to hell with anyone else, and I do have a hard time with people like this. We try and get you thinking at Hamilton Hall, to be a little more aware of your part in the bigger plot of global humankind and share some interesting topics over breakfast.
