Whistleblowers and other sources actually risk their jobs, even sometimes their lives, to bring to light crucial information in the public interest. The likes of Ben Koh, David McBride, Jeff Morris, Simone Marsh, Richard Boyle, Michaela Banerji, Julian Assange, Witness K and Bernard Collaery are among them, to name but a few.
Further, amid the failure of the mainstream media, the role of the community has become critical in journalism. This week, Michael West Media marks its fourth birthday. This is a community enterprise. We would not have survived, let alone grown, without the generous support of the two and a half thousand people who contributed or are contributing now to make independent, public interest journalism work.
It was four years ago this Saturday when we published this investigation of the Big Four, having no idea if going independent would work. Thanks to the community and the demand for journalism that is not compromised by corporate and political agendas, it has. If we can replicate the same growth over the next four years, independent media can put the corporate media to the sword and make politicians and big business accountable.
From $5 a month, join the fight! We will be your proxy, holding the world’s biggest companies to account. Real investigative journalism is integral to our democracy. Check interview with Democracy’s Watchdog, “Michael West #Vimeo https://t.co/8iK3lGNUza https://t.co/jbbAErmyQR
— 💧Sandi Keane 🔥 (@Jarrapin) July 7, 2020
Michael West established Michael West Media in 2016 to focus on journalism of high public interest, particularly the rising power of corporations over democracy. West was formerly a journalist and editor with Fairfax newspapers, a columnist for News Corp and even, once, a stockbroker.