Recently, the non-profit organization “Reporters’ Without Borders” released their annual “Press Freedom” index, ranking the United States 46th in overall press freedom (you can read the report details here: http://rsf.org/index2014/en-index2014.php).  So, it may come as no surprise that today’s media has abdicated their responsibility to keep government honest.  We are all aware of the First Amendment protecting the press freedom, and that’s because the press should be, in essence, the fourth branch, holding government (including local) both accountable and transparent.  Clearly, the press has failed in this regard.  We aim to forgo “political access” and bias in favor of reporting the truth and exposing corruption at all levels of government.

Enter Muckraker, Inc!  🙂  –  a network of regional and national newspapers working to be that free press that our founders envisioned. We don’t play the game of political favorites in order to advance a party agenda or gain insider access.  We call out corruption and lies, do all our own investigations, and give a voice to all political persuasions, not just the Rs and Ds.  Everyone should have a voice.  Competition of ideas leads to better government.

All of this is great, but as we expand beyond Wilkes-Barre/Scranton into other regions, we face the obvious hurdle of financing our efforts.  From our inception we’ve been a grassroots and organically funded publication, beholden only to our readers.  We have basic funding via our advertisers, but that’s directly proportional to our name recognition.  Continued growth and sustainability, however, requires we reach out and ask for others to join us in our efforts: Custody4Cash.org, PoconoIG.com, TrentonIG.com (NJ), San Antonio (TX), Arlington (VA), MuckrakerNews.com, SanityCheckRadioShow.com, MuckrakerStore.com, and many more to come.

Below you will find details for an IndieGoGo fundraiser in support of our independent media, Muckraker, Inc, and regional newspapers.  Please consider donating, and by all means forward this to friends, family and colleagues.  Nothing changes without causing change.

We are also looking for writers who have that muckraking spirit.  Interested?

Lastly, thank you for your support!

To all our dedicated supporters,

I just want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their help over the past few years in establishing our independent investigative reporting in Wilkes-Barre, Scranton, Trenton, and the Pocono area through our print and web publications as well as radio.  When you own the media, you own the message and over 90% of American news is concentrated in the hands of a few big, old party and special interest players.  A recent report ranked the United States in 46th place between Romania and Haiti regarding a free press.  Is this the America that you want?

I am now asking you to make our first fundraising effort on IndieGoGo a success.  Donations would go towards expanding the activities of our independent media group Muckraker, Inc.  We plan to grow our media presence across the country, from the already-receptive Carolinas and Texas, then out to all other states.  Your contribution will help us launch a print edition of our paper, the Independent Gazette, in the Poconos.  Additionally, the money you donate will go directly towards printing and distribution costs of all IGs in Wilkes-Barre, Scranton and Trenton while keeping our Sanity Check radio show on the air to give you — the people — a forum to be heard every Saturday.  Finally, funds will go towards purchasing necessary equipment to allow us to improve our reporting.

The IndieGoGo campaign goes live at 2am DST on Saturday, March 22 with a goal to raise $47,000 by 11:59pm DST on Sunday, May 4.  Full information is available HERE to see what your dollars will underwrite in growing our independent media outreach.

There are many levels of support to choose from with some fun and valuable perks for contributing to this crowd-sourced fundraiser.  Grab our signature pins for $10,  give $25 for the pins plus our Cooking with Blake ebook and first edition Pocono Independent Gazette in the mail. Get all these plus a Muckraker T-shirt for $50.

At the $100 level, get all previous perks plus a one-year subscription to the Wilkes-Barre and Scranton Independent Gazettes in the mail, plus a personal shout-out on Sanity Check.  Or at $100, claim all the previous level perks and a quarter-page grayscale ad for your business or charitable cause that will run in the paper.  Grayscale ads continue for $250 for a half page and $500 for a full page, while $1000 claims a color full page ad AND the $10-$50 level perks with each pledge.  Perks increase for donations at the $2500 and $5000 levels, click HERE for full details.

Every donation helps us create an independent media for an independent people.   Can you give $10, $25, $50 or more to our IndieGoGo campaign?  Again, funding goes LIVE on Saturday, March 22 at 2am DST on:

 igg.me/at/muckraker

Muckraker Inc. and its communications initiatives are YOUR voice, YOUR forum, YOUR fight for truth in the news.  Make this YOUR fundraiser by donating and sharing the word with friends through email or social media using our web-friendly info HERE.

At Muckraker, we feel that it is our duty to find and report the truth, no matter the push back from powerful special interest groups.  Recent reporting has been on the unimaginable evils of the Custody4Ca$h scandal as well as efforts to expand Voter Choice by opening up Ballot Access.  For more info on these stories, click HERE.  Our team is ready to take this fight across America but can only do so with YOUR support.  United we can make a positive difference in how news is reported.

Thank you for your time and assistance.  Please remember, the only side that every American should care about is the TRUTH!

Lou Jasikoff, Publisher