Welcome to The Jefferson County Beacon, which describes itself as “a worker-directed nonprofit news outlet managed by a board of your friends and neighbors.”
But who has actually financed this new “local” initiative? A little digging reveals that it is part of a national news network being built and funded by billionaire globalists.
Clicking the “Support Local News” link beneath the Beacon directs to where folks can donate “$5,000+” or other amounts to this 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose Donor Transparency Policy pledges to “make public all revenue sources and donors who give $5,000 or more per year.”
Clicking the Beacon‘s “About” menu “Fiscal Sponsor” link points to the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN), whose mission is “to build a nonprofit news network that ensures all people in every community have access to trusted news.”
INN’s mission is part of the Trusted News Initiative, described by Influence Watch as “a coalition of left-of-center media, social media, and technology companies created by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in 2019 with the ‘specific aims of flagging disinformation during elections,’ and to also censor what the initiative deems is misinformation… Organizations that are partners of the initiative include the Associated Press, BBC, European Broadcasting Union (EBU), Meta, Microsoft, Thomson Reuters, Google, Twitter, and The Washington Post.”
This alliance’s collusion currently faces antitrust challenges because while it “publicly purports to be a self-appointed ‘truth police’ extirpating online ‘misinformation,’ in fact it has suppressed wholly accurate and legitimate reporting in furtherance of the economic self-interest of its members.”
Clicking its “Network” link brings up the INN Network Directory where you are encouraged to Find Your News. It lists “more than 425 independent news organizations in a new kind of news network” that the Beacon has now joined, which “the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN) strengthens and supports.”
Examples of other INN Network community news sites using similar design templates, donation links, and policy language.
Browsing through several of these INN Network Directory news sites, they all appear to be cookie-cutter websites based on similar design templates, similar donation links, and similar boilerplate policy language as The Jefferson County Beacon, despite each purporting to be “local”, “independent”, and “community-supported.”
Follow The Money
Who actually bankrolls the INN and its network of news sites like the Beacon? According to its Supporters & Financials page, the Democracy Fund and Google News Initiative and several left-leaning foundations contribute more than $500,000 each, along with lesser donations from Microsoft and many others.
What is the Democracy Fund? According to its Financials page, it was “established and solely funded by philanthropist and eBay founder Pierre Omidyar” then spun off to the billionaire’s Omidyar Network, which describes itself as “a social change venture that reimagines critical systems, and the ideas that govern them, to build more inclusive and equitable societies … across the globe.”
“Unbiased” Reporting?
The Beacon says it wants to hire local reporters with “a passion for independent news” to “tell the Local story with an unbiased approach.”
This “unbiased” start-up seeks local hires funded by international moneyed interests with a plan to change society in ways that arguably eliminate freedoms and diversity and tighten top-down controls. It comes at a time when a majority of networked media outlets purporting to be local and independent actually adhere to the same copycat globalist-directed scripts.
Remember the viral video exposing nearly 200 “local” CBS, ABC, NBC, and Fox affiliate anchors reciting an identical message about fake news?
Click to watch 1 minute-36 second viral video, exposing the script from the Sinclair Broadcast Group, which controls news stations nationwide.
Each of the affiliates first explained that their greatest responsibility was to serve their (fill-in-the-blank) communities, and then went on in scripted unison to decry other news sources as biased and irresponsible. The eerie compilation of voices, all stressing the same words, warned “This is extremely dangerous to our democracy.”
The expanding INN news initiative, already comprising more than 425 “independent” publications that the Beacon is now allied with, also coincides with a parallel effort by Soros Fund Management to embark on a “large audio-buying spree,” adding to the hundreds of US radio stations the George Soros group currently owns.
Consolidation of messaging to support a global agenda continues apace.
Given its origin as “a social change venture” funded by tech-giant billionaires, the Beacon should be mindful and honest about its own dependencies and biases… especially compared to the Port Townsend Leader, which (whatever its shortcomings) remains one of the last local independent papers in the country.
The Beacon says it “was born when it became clear that Jefferson County needed a community-focused newspaper,” pretending the Leader does not focus on the county community. But what “community” does the Beacon feel the need to focus on?
Our politically-diverse county at large?
Or some like-minded coterie seeking an echo chamber free from viewpoints it blames the Leader — which for years has heavily censored local voices like those represented in the Port Townsend Free Press (see articles here, here, and here) — for not censoring enough?
May these qualms prove unfounded and the Beacon live up to its name, shining the light of truth as a vibrant part of our local media ecosystem.
Stephen Schumacher graduated with honors in Mathematics from Harvard College and programmed funds transfer systems between Wall Street banks and the Federal Reserve before moving to Port Townsend in 1983. He has served as an officer for various community organizations such as the Food Co-op, Jefferson Land Trust, and the Northwest Nutritional Foods Association. He co-created The Port Townsend Leader's original online newspaper and programs ship stability software used by naval architects.
Reads like the Yuma NPG TV company that owns all but PBS and 7thDay OTA channels. Funny to see them forget what the correct Logo is to put on their live screen. they have all the ABC CBS NBC FOX Telemundo etc. Once upon a time this was illegal. Should bring back the old rules when one man didn’t own all the public channels.
Ah, the Limousine Liberals diligently at work using the local useful idiots like a certain (so-called) journalist who seems to be running out of places to work, once again acting as the big fish in a little pond.
All this does is tickle the ears of those who want to be tickled, with not many if at all being converted to this modern day evangelical church of Progressive (Socialist) Liberal Elitism.
Fortunately, the good people like our own Stephen Schumacher who I know for sure is a defender of truth, like it or not stand on the proverbial wall, and to him and the others here I say thank you, thank you very much!
I imagine that you’re someone still mad about getting kicked off the Fair Board after I reported on those shenanigans, eh? I know those folks did not like having a light shined on their proceedings and have gone on to slander my reporting.
Maybe if you had the guts to stop hiding behind anonymity we could get into an honest debate about who can call what journalism.
Mr. Schumacher,
Please define a “globalist,” and identify the “globalists” whom you think are behind this news initiative.
The link below has some information from Liz Gunn from New Zealand about 3:40 in who uses the word Globalist. The conversation between father and son before and after her also covers the term Globalist.
“ME ME ME” is thought by dad to be a very important factor. Some might think it seems to be a factor in this little petri dish or tide pool called Port Townsend. Extrapolate outward. Around the globe.
https://davidicke.com/2024/04/22/they-are-censoring-and-silencing-us-david-icke/
Obviously these are to many the confused thoughts of a whack job and his kid. Relax. Trust Klaus Schwab when he tells you that “you will own nothing and be happy.” Around the globe. See UN agenda 2030. See also the WHO plan to obtain power over all governments.
In fairness all of us “me’s” are a part of the problem. Assuming there is one. Perhaps globalism is just random consistency. Perhaps we should just trust “trusted news providers” and those we “me’s” elect.
Still waiting for answers from the last story’s comments from council members Ben Thomas (“I would never ignore you”) , Amy Howard (civic health expert) and appointed mayor Faber (eliminating all cars in the downtown is a good idea) Details please David. Show how deeply you can plan and think….ME!
As always, thanks Stephen. “I may make you feel but I can’t make you think,,,,,,,,,,,,,”
Apparently you did not read the article, and “follow the money”? :))
[Responding to Doug Edelstein]
Do you imagine that yours is a clever question? Honestly? Did you read the article? The first few grafs provide all the answers to your question.
To wit:
“INN’s mission is part of the Trusted News Initiative, described by Influence Watch as “a coalition of left-of-center media, social media, and technology companies created by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in 2019 with the ‘specific aims of flagging disinformation during elections,’ and to also censor what the initiative deems is misinformation… Organizations that are partners of the initiative include the Associated Press, BBC, European Broadcasting Union (EBU), Meta, Microsoft, Thomson Reuters, Google, Twitter, and The Washington Post.”
What do you think the above quote actually means? Do these sound like companies from around the Globe, or at least Western Europe? Do you believe that the BBC and the EBU should convey truth and curate to the beliefs of your fellow citizens in Port Townsend?
Does this sound like a free press to you? If so, what does free mean to you, exactly? I’ll tell you what it isn’t — it isn’t free of cost, nor is it free of agenda.
Have you done any research into the bias of InfluenceWatch or do you only choose to acknowledge bias when it suits you?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_Research_Center
Mr. Firenze, are you under the impression that Wikipedia is unbiased and trustworthy? It’s notable that in their own intro to the Trusted News Initiative webpage, they don’t refer to that org as “liberal left,” which it most certainly is, however in their description of the Capital Research Center, they barely get beyond the group’s name before shading it as “an American conservative 501 (c)(3)…”
Four or five years ago I was researching the background of the global management consulting firm, McKinsey & Company. Wikipedia had a very lengthy segment under the subtitle “Scandals” at the time, beginning with McKinsey’s pivotal role in the Enron debacle. Some McKinsey ‘graduates’ also played central roles in the management of the covid disaster, which focused unwelcome scrutiny on the firm, and the next time I went to their page, “Scandals” was gone. They’d received as bright a spit-polish as could be given to an outfit with closets full of skeletons.
Political orientation neither indicates nor precludes bias. The issue is, are the websites in question reporting factually or not. Wikipedia co-founder Larry Sanger shares some insights about his “baby:”
“Donors have included foundations run by the Koch family”
“CRC has been highly critical of animal rights activists and the environmental movement […] and has published authors who deny human influence in climate change. They have argued that organized labor is bad for America, and criticized government efforts to weaken intellectual property protection of prescription medications.”
Hi Derek! If you like Wikipedia better, here’s their description, which sounds similarly globalist, collusive, and censorious to me:
“The Trusted News Initiative (TNI) is an international alliance of news media, social media and technology corporations which claim to be working to identify and combat purported disinformation.”
One should check out the Trusted News Initiative from many sources.
I had heard of it months ago while following events in Great Britain birthplace of Orwell
and around the Globe.. As in Globalist.
Here are several articles from one and only one source.
As with anyone’s point of view you may agree with some things and not others.
Build your own picture.
I hope others supply other sources.
More data allows one to Think Critically.
And debate openly.
Who can you trust these days?
Yourself. One hopes.
https://davidicke.com/?s=The%20Trusted%20News%20Initiative
This 4-minute video — “What is the Trusted News Initiative?” — is an excellent overview laying out TNI’s actual agenda, summarized as Global Information Control.
https://odysee.com/@PANDA:3b/trustednewsinitiative:d
Trial Site News explores just one element of the initiative in this 8-minute piece “BBC Collaborates with Facebook to Purge Vaccine-Injured Groups Online”:
The TNI collaboration censored hundreds of thousands of people sharing their personal stories, many of them desperately looking for help and support, in an effort to cover up the true safety profile of the shots… because you can trust them to protect us from voices that damage the narrative.
https://www.trialsitenews.com/a/bbc-collaborates-with-facebook-to-purge-vaccine-injured-groups-online-video-6143ec45
Hi Bianca,
I did read the article, and no, not a particularly clever question on my part. Note that you are violating the rules of this discourse by sending a personal insult.
My question tries to identify exactly what users of the term, “globalist,” mean when they use it. I’m sure you know the word is often a cover for antisemitism — especially when George Soros is mentioned in the context of the discussion. I am accusing no one of antisemitism, mind you — that is, no one who isn’t antisemitic. I leave that question for each individual to determine of themselves after rigorous self-examination.
One way to analyze what “globalists” are supposed to be is to ask who is NOT a globalist. For example, are international corporations members of this alleged conspiracy? Companies like John Deere, Boeing, McDonald’s, big oil, big pharma, big shipping, big chemicals, big mining, big arms corporations? Or is information the only commodity “owned” by the globalists that they covet and control more than anything?
If one defines globalism as efforts to diminish nationalism, or specifically American interests, for the benefit of — whom — certain individuals like Soros, or certain global cabals (who are they?) — then you have to be able to define what American interests are. Certainly the last two world wars and all the wars since should show you that American military interests are best served by the concept of collective security. American economic interests are inextricably intertwined with global economic conditions, forces, realities. as I am sure you know. We exist, like it or not, in a global economy.
Not that we don’t have economic entities that are rivals, even enemies — we certainly do. Just as we have military enemies who would exploit any advantage against us as a nation — Russia, Iran, China, to name a few.
But several individuals on this thread seem to perceive a much more malevolent threat to American interests than even those existential rivals and enemies. These evil wannabe dictators are the globalists. I’m sure people on this thread will continue to call me naive and ignorant, or in willful denial, or that I should just read Mr. Icke’s book to know what vicious lies I’m being told by those evil globalists at NPR.
But here’s the rub: Many of the media cited in Mr. Schumacher’s article are mainstream news sources that adhere to journalistic standards. Information must be vetted, checked and rechecked. If they make a mistake they must say so and be accountable for it. Their only currency is their credibility, and that is founded on those journalistic rules. To be sure, these orgs are owned by someone, and of course that means they might be influenced by the values and beliefs of those individuals — look at FOX News and Murdochs, a fine example of a profoundly and cynically biased news source owned by non-Americans. But they are also staffed by journalists, who by and large are the products of American and international schools of journalism. These people tend to hold the ideals of good journalism very high — that good journalism protects the values of truth, freedom, good government, and the civic good.
Corruption has been found in big news sources — look at the “catch-kill” story about the publisher of the National Enquirer and Donald Trump’s alleged sexcapades, or the several stories the NYT has had to fess up to in regard to WMD in Iraq (and others), or many other examples.
But what Mr. Schumacher is alleging in this report is that the Beacon is owned by corrupt “globalist” corporations whose interest is in spreading self-serving disinformation and misinformation, while claiming to be acting against it. I see no evidence of that in the article. So what I am asking is for him to define his terms — and now, to show some evidence that these organizations’ purpose in this enterprise is to deceive rather than inform.
Best, Doug
Doug Edelstein wrote: “what Mr. Schumacher is alleging in this report is that the Beacon is owned by corrupt ‘globalist’ corporations whose interest is in spreading self-serving disinformation and misinformation, while claiming to be acting against it.”
Doug, I alleged no such thing. My third paragraph makes clear that the Beacon is a self-owned 501(c)(3) corporation. Its “Fiscal Sponsor” is a well-heeled activist NGO whose agenda I am not sanguine about, but I would not describe it using the terms you put in my mouth.
You also replied to Bianca Day that “you are violating the rules of this discourse by sending a personal insult.”
Doug, again you are making things up… there was no personal insult in anything Bianca commented.
I am concerned that you may be trying to disrupt this thread by engaging in “sealioning“, which Wikipedia describes as “a type of trolling or harassment that consists of pursuing people with relentless requests for evidence, often tangential or previously addressed, while maintaining a pretense of civility and sincerity.” I have no interest in further engaging with you on that basis.
Bianca asked me if I thought my question was clever, thus saying my question was clearly not clever — a direct personal insult. Like saying, “You think you’re smart, don’t you?”
Asking for evidence is sea-lioning? In that case, maybe I have a new one for you. “Walrusing.” That’s disengaging from a legitimate conversation when your conspiracy theory is challenged. Or maybe that’s actually “porpoising” — leaping up then diving out of sight and avoiding legit questions. There’s no limit to the marine mammals we could pointlessly compare each other to, is there?
So, ghost me as you will. But your allegations still require evidence.
It’s kind of astounding you spent the time to write this article without actually talking to any of the founders of the Beacon. Take a look at their Board of Directors page – many if not all are long time Jefferson County locals, not boogeyman globalists.
The funny thing is, they did interview a board memember, but they just chose not to use the facts because it didn’t fit their narrative. I believe this is what you would call projection.
Derek – What are you talking about?!? Nobody “did interview a board member” nor “take the time to ask our editor about our funding” so couldn’t have “chose not to use the facts”… that’s a complete falsification. In fact, we whipped out this article Saturday afternoon entirely based on links from your website and related public information.
Someone inquired, so I assumed it was you doing due diligence which is not a mistake I’ll repeat.
Boy howdy, I wish we had some of those billionaire funds. The Beacon could really use that Soros money considering we’ve only been able to pay our web dev so far and that’s been out of our editor’s own pocket. Thanks for the free press though!
Maybe you should have included that in your report since you did take the time to ask our editor about our funding? I guess the truth would have popped your conspiracy bubble.
If any folks reading this have a real story they’d like to tell, we’d love to hear it. We will not give a platform to hate speech, but real stories from real people in Jefferson County are exactly what we want to hear.
And expect that if you get interviewed by us, we’ll do our best to accurately report the truth.
GREAT!!! Maybe you can do a deep dive into the unanswered questions put to Thomas, Howard, and Faber.
Then more details regarding the FWPDA past to present. What is going on now with the property of all of the people of the State of Washington?
I really do look forward to a 4th estate doing good work. With a comment section. I hope my earlier comment gave some perspective to Globalism and its dynamics. A piece on how this is relevant or if relevant locally would be a great way to introduce yourselves.
Maybe you can also take on local excess death rates. Thanks to all who volunteer time and perspectives for open debate. It’s all good. Sunlight disinfectant.
How about that New Zealand thing? No, not Mauro.
Great to see all this discussion around such a charged subject.
Derek, the article does not state that you/the Beacon were receiving Soros money. It says (my emphasis):
The Soros example is about that particular multi-billion-dollar operation buying radio messaging. As stated, it’s a “parallel effort” in the many-pronged strategy to control the narrative by dominating information streams.
But DO you really wish you could have some of those Soros funds? If so, that would speak volumes.
Ms. Wolpin,
What is it supposed to mean when someone receives “Soros funds?” Do you subscribe to the idea — as does the current dictator of Hungary, Viktor Orban — that Soros is some sinister force in the world? The man is definitely a financial pirate — credited with a very successful coup against the British currency — but has otherwise used his fortune to promote democracy around the world. Attacks on Soros are often tinged with antisemitism and antisemitic tropes. What are your assumptions about Soros?
Democracy, is it?
Including, invariably on script, the antisemitic tar brush ready at hand, assuming broad use.
Two of the most vaunted, marketed, weaponized, joined-at-the-hip nations in this world, both founded their “democracies” on genocide & exploitation, thence making haste to export their bloody true colors far & wide.
And what would this world do without piratic billionaire parasites, sucking it all up, throwing their freight around?
Seems endless these days. Inked inversions to boot. True colors, not unlike sorosian bankrolled “democracy”. Another attempted coup on human consciousness & sovereignty, global to local.
So far, DE, DF, and this “beacon” continue stepping all over themselves.
Quelle promotion. Quelle insanity. WW3’s gonna be fabulous too.
PTFP — thanks for being on it.
DE: You won’t find that antisemitic brush you’ve now twice suggested “tinges” this platform. Are you a fan of Al Capone and Mussolini? If not, you must be anti-Italian.
George Soros is/was an agent of chaos and destabilization, both global and domestic, a parasite with no moral compass. For a basic primer in Soros 101, look no further than his own raison d’être expressed in the 1998 CBS “60 Minutes” interview:
Steve Kroft/CBS: “You have been blamed for the financial collapse of Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan and Russia.”
Soros (smiling): “All of the above.”
Steve Kroft/CBS: “Are you that powerful?”
Soros: “I am basically there to make money. I cannot and do not look at the social consequences of what I do.”
He then acknowledges that he is engaged in amoral activities, and that during the Nazi pogrom he posed as a Christian and helped in the confiscation of property of fellow Jews as an act of self-preservation. That, he explains, is where his “character” was forged. In classic psychopathic form, he feels no guilt and justifies his amorality.
Soros as a businessman is and has been no more nor less moral than many other billionaires whose activities have been toxic for humanity. The Kochs, the Murdochs, Henry Ford, any of the Russian oligarchs, Alfred Nobel, J,P. Morgan, the Rockefellers, Astors, Elon Musk, the Waltons, the Windsors, Berlusconi, Trump, so many more — all of them guilty of vast destructive corruption — and for some of them, partially exonerated because they did some redeeming good. Soros, of all of them, seems to be the most vilified. And what he has done “as a human being,” as he says in the interview you say exposes him as an evil parasite (“Parasite” is another word that has a notable antisemitic legacy, fyi.) has distinguished him as a liberal humanitarian. I think a LOT of the rich are parasites, and I wish we would tax them all back into the human race and change the US system so their interests are less pervasive and powerful. Until then, they exist, in all their unassailable power, on a continuum of good and evil, as do we all, and Soros is certainly not the demon you describe. So why Soros? It is abundantly clear that Viktor Orban exploits his Jewishness in the incipient antisemitism in Hungary to demonize. He even uses old Nazi symbols and caricatures. Same for Marine Le Pen in France, and the whole new crew of sickening fascists across Europe and the US. Therefore I maintain that a lot of the hatred and demonization of Soros is pure antisemitism.
As a teacher I sponsored and advised our high school debate team in the Urban Debate League years ago. The league was partially funded by Soros money. This rigorous and demanding debate competition fostered critical thinking skills, research skills, speaking skills, and everything else that the amazing discipline of debate requires. And in case anyone wonders whether “indoctrination” of any kind was taking place, note that every student, for every topic, had to learn both sides of the question, yay or nay, before competition, because they learned which side they would have to argue just moments before the start. From those teams over a few years came future attorneys, activists, businesspeople, artists, engineers, entrepreneurs, soldiers, physicians, neuroscientists and much more. Our society as a whole is the better for the program. Is that an example of the evil that you see issuing like fire and brimstone from the horns and cloven feet of this demon?
I just learned that Beacon board-member/editor Nhatt Nichols posted to Facebook: “Stephen actually reached out to The Beacon and asked where we received funding. I informed him that we haven’t started fundraising yet, and I, the editor, have been putting personal savings into the project to get us going, which I’ll recouperate when the Beacon can afford it.”
For the record, that conversation never happened and her claim to have communicated with me is a flat-out lie (unless she’s confusing me with some other Stephen not associated with the Free Press).
Props to Nhatt for cordially correcting her Facebook recollection as follows: “I went back and checked, and it wasn’t Stephen who asked about our donors; it was simply someone with a similar name and good timing. My apologies; I know we all get things wrong occasionally and that the important thing is in the mending, not in the fractures. Stephen, whenever you’re ready to talk to me directly about the Beacon and its funding model, I’d be more than delighted to chat.”
De nada, and I agree completely that what’s important is the mending! Let’s get together sometime and chat when mutually convenient.
Relevant History?
I remember a Nhatt Attack! cartoon in the Leader where a Nhatt Nichols portrayed herself getting the vaccine. Seems she had what some might call a bad reaction, but what she and others in unison said proved “it was working.”. Was there even a “don’t kill grandma” aspect to her message?
For sure this expert advised all should get “vaccinated,” the definition of which was changed to include mRNA which concerned some such as the TNI silenced Robert Malone and Dr. Peter McCullough.
Two perspectives. Has time changed Nhatt’s? Perhaps. I am anxious to see if Nhatt still advises as she did then, as our own Dr. Berry does.
At the same time Bill Mann in the Leader contributed “Thanks Spreadnecks For All Our Covid Miseries” and referred to anyone not getting vaccinated and trusting the narrative (like Nhatt did) as “knuckle draggers”. Who has skinned up knuckles is somewhat subjective.
Of course the Leader being independently owned would prevent any orchestrated messaging or censorship. Right?.
Don’t know the actual odds 2 folks from the Beacon misidentifying Stephen. He is a pretty memorable individual who can both BE KIND 🙂 🙂 🙂 and GET REAL with depth a simple cartoon or someone repeating a narrative could never achieve. Glad to hear Stephen and Nhatt will communicate in more depth. Perhaps Bill Mann can be included if he wishes.
Thank you for exposing this diabolically clever “news” outlet. The criminal cabal has evidently seen that people trust “local” news so they have set up this FAKE “local” source to further indoctrinate, mislead and destroy even small local populations with their lies and manipulations. Our society is being sifted into only two camps. Those who believe the lies and have become puppets…and those who saw these “Mind Traps”, steered clear and are holding tightly onto the Truth.
Reading through the comments, we can see the confusion already blazing. Is the Beacon real or not? Is the Beacon a tool of evil globalist liars or not? Are the local staff well meaning useful idiots being manipulated by a globalist Psychological Warfare Operation? All kinds of interwoven arguments are offered, accusations, rebuttals. Like untangling a plate of spaghetti. BUT there is an easy way to easily see what the Beacon is really all about. “By their fruits shall you know them.” As a “litmus test”, all we have to to do is look at their position on the “covid vaccine”. Everyone has had FOUR YEARS to avail themselves of the MOUNTAIN of evidence from thousands of independent doctors, scientists, journalists, health professionals and investigators that have proven the “jabs” are NOT “safe and effective” but actually “deadly and dangerous. Will the Beacon report on the latest reseach, like THIS: https://slaynews.com/news/quad-vaxxed-young-people-318-more-likely-die-unvaxxed/
Or are they useful idiots who parrot the corrupt CDC and FDA and urge more people to line up for the death shots? That will tell us clearly whether the Beacon is a “real” news source or just more lies.
Well said Sarah, The voice of reason always prevails.
We certainly welcome all media outlets that contribute to sharing information in our community. Whether or not, as Derek Firenze wrote, “we’ll do our best to accurately report the truth” remains to be seen.
Thus far, both he and editor Nhatt Nichols have made (and subsequently retracted) false claims about Stephen contacting them regarding funding (see discussion above). DF then insulted Stephen based on that erroneous claim (“I guess the truth would have popped your conspiracy bubble”), a borderline violation of our comment guidelines.
And in another sarcastic comment — “Boy howdy, I wish we had some of those billionaire funds. The Beacon could really use that Soros money…” — he also misrepresented what this article said about who the Soros group had funded.
Not exactly an auspicious start for accuracy, “unbiased” reporting, and truth telling. But, as noted by Sarah above, “By their fruits shall you know them.”
When the Port Townsend Free Press was reporting on the events surrounding the Y’s expulsion of Julie Jaman from the pool in the summer of 2022, charges of hate speech, transphobia and worse were leveled at us by individuals, city officials and local media.
Unlike our opponents, those of us who were on the receiving end of bona fide violent acts and hateful rhetoric on August 15th have provided real evidence of those behaviors. One of our group recognized Nhatt Nichols and Derek Firenze amongst the crowd that turned out that evening to shut us down, supporting intimidation and total censorship of women even speaking about the rights of women and girls.
The following 4 Instagram posts are also from 2022. Here we see Nhatt Nichols — former Leader cartoonist (Nhatt Attack!), now listed as ‘Editor and Graphic Journalist’ of the Beacon — marshaling forces to get the new associate publisher at the Leader fired for being a friend of Amy Sousa and sharing a factual tweet about well-known ‘detransitioner’ Chloe Cole. Is this a preview of the style of “unbiased, inclusive” reporting we can expect from the JeffCo Beacon? Their fiscal sponsor INN and the Trusted News Initiative won’t have a problem with that. Will you?
“Sunlight Is The Best Disinfectant”… Openness and transparency is the best way to eliminate nefarious behavior within an organization.- The phrase is associated with US Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis. Brandeis was known as “The People’s Lawyer”.
I continue to appreciate the openness of Port Townsend Free Press, and its free exchange of comments.
I am wondering about this new “Beacon”, if it will be as open?
Time will tell, but from what I’ve read thus far, I doubt it.
It’s not like us who’ve been around here going on five decades do not know at least one of the key persons at this new Beacon, and where their ideology is planted. And, with Annette Huenke’s posting of Nhatt Nichols’ aggressive “style” I’d say the paradigm of the Jefferson County Beacon is set in stone, but you never know.
Again, I thank PTFP, and its staff for its true openness. Incredibly refreshing!
I just assume that all so called “news” is really just propaganda and opinion.
Hi Ana,
Here’s a refutation of some of the accusations you make against Soros.
https://digitaledition.chicagotribune.com/tribune/article_popover.aspx?guid=3ce66cd6-ff19-4d6a-ad88-cedc5433d9c0
His alleged links to the Thai money crisis — accusations which were made by a rabid anti-semite — have since been recanted by that same accuser.
There’s no doubt he’s been a financial opportunist, a pirate, like I said. But to paint him as you do buys into the right-wing fury directed at the man, an hysteria that I believe is rooted in antisemitic tropes.
No, I am not accusing you of antisemitism, nor does everyone who despises Soros hate him because he’s a Jew. I do think that hatred is generated and fed by disinformation, the effort to create an international billionaire boogeyman who is bound on destroying the West for his own benefit. Thus we have rampant lies generated and perpetuated by individuals like Alex Jones, Glenn Beck, Donald Trump, Viktor Orban and others who themselves benefit from making him a scapegoat and an evil construct. But I hope you will acknowledge that the emotion directed at Soros taps into existing and rampant antisemitism.
de
Soros’ record, and his own words speaks volumes, and then there is this… On the issue of Soros funding anti-semites… (links to the various reference are inclusive in the article) https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/clear-paper-trail-found-between-paid-anti-israel-agitators-on-us-college-campuses-and-soros-foundation/ar-AA1nJtQC
In 2020 I founded The JOLT – The Journal of Olympia, Lacey & Tumwater, a nonprofit news organization couple hours south of you in Thurston County, and grateful member of the Institute for Nonprofit News.
Your analysis of INN is plain wrong. INN is a membership organization that educates its members and provides an arms-length method for its funders to provide grants and other services, such as helping us with our fundraising efforts.
One program is indeed funded by Google, which provides grants to us after we proceed through a training program that they provide (and which I’ve found to be helpful and product-neutral).
I’ve never heard that INN is part of Trusted News Initiative. I don’t believe it, either.
INN has never even asked to review any of our stories, let alone censor them.
One of INN’s initiatives is RNN – the Rural News Network – which offers assistance helping outlets such as ours (and about 80 others) to localize national topics. Again, no censorship, no collusion.
Your suggestion that INN’s members have cookie-cutter tech stacks is also completely inaccurate. Each of us chooses our own vendors. No one from INN has ever tried to sell us on a particular vendor.
I met with lawyers this morning regarding creating for us a privacy policy and a terms of use policy. Indeed, the lead attorney suggested that they make use of a boilerplate, modified for our news organization. What’s wrong with that?
INN has a staff of about 15-20 people that it pays using grants from the foundations it cites. Something wrong with that?
There are no George Soros-owned radio stations in INN.
You’re wearing your politics on your digital sleeve. INN members pledge to be nonpartisan. Indeed, it’s part of our obligation to qualify for 501(c)(3) status.
I don’t know for sure, but I’m confident that the Jefferson County Beacon is not “funded by tech-giant billionaires.” I encourage everyone in JeffCo to read it, too.
Danny – Thanks so much for sharing your experience-based perspective working with INN as a corrective to my hot take.
That definitely does cast INN in a more positive light, but my critique was not focused on INN nor the nascent Beacon per se, instead warning about the agenda of their billionaire backers and “Fiscal Sponsors”, which qualms still stand. I’m glad if you’re correct that INN et al have taken Google’s dirty money and done some good with it, but that doesn’t mean they don’t collectively serve corporate purposes, else backers’ contributions would quickly dry up.
For the record, my article never said that INN censored articles or included Soros-owned radio stations. Neither did I say that “INN is part of Trusted News Initiative”; instead I warned that INN’s announced MISSION to promote so-called “trusted news” was part of the censorship agenda of the Trusted News Initiative “international alliance of news media, social media and technology corporations” dedicated to nurturing compliant media while deplatforming opposition voices.
I appreciate your information that there is flexibility underlying the news sites that I said “appear to be cookie-cutter”, and you’re right that starting from boilerplate policy language is often useful. Thanks again for taking the time to inform Free Press readers about your perspective.