What is Truthout?

Who is Truthout?

How long has Truthout been around?

How is Truthout funded?

Is my donation tax-deductible?

Why doesn't Truthout accept advertisements?

Where does Truthout get its content?

Where does my donation go?

How can I support Truthout besides donating money?

How do I sign up for your newsletter?

Who owns Truthout?

What happened to founding director Marc Ash?

What has changed at Truthout since the change in leadership?

What is BuzzFlash?

Are you a union shop?

Have you conducted layoffs?

How much does the management at Truthout get paid?

Do you pay employees a living wage?

Is it truth-out.org or truthout.org?

Where's the search bar on your site?

Are you hiring?

Do you have an internship program?

Do you have an annual report?

How can I get a Truthout t-shirt or bumper sticker?

What is Truthout?

Truthout is an online, 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to providing independent news and commentary on a daily basis. In order to remain free of bias and adhere to high editorial standards, we accept no advertising or corporate backing. Instead, we depend on our readers to support our work. 

Truthout works to broaden and diversify the political discussion by introducing independent voices and focusing on under-covered issues and unconventional thinking. Harnessing the expanding power of the Internet, we work to spread reliable information, critical thought and progressive ideas.

We are devoted to equality, democracy, human rights, accountability and social justice. We believe in the power of free speech, and know that democratic journalism can make the world a better place.

Who is Truthout?

We're a group of dedicated, passionate people committed to brave journalism with integrity and spirit. Click here to check out our masthead.

Truthout was born as a small Internet start-up in 2001, and has been growing since. We now reach millions of readers each month.

The majority of Truthout's funding comes from individual donations by readers like you! Click here to donate. 

We're also grateful for the support of several foundations, including The Park Foundation, The Denver Area Educational Telecommunications Consortium, the Susan and Ford Schumann Foundation, the William B. Weiner, Jr. Foundation, the Litowitz Foundation and others.

Is my donation tax-deductible?

Yes! Truthout is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, and all donations are tax-deductible.

Why doesn't Truthout accept advertisements?
 
Truthout is deeply committed to unbiased reporting free of corporate influence. We believe in offering readers - and journalists - a news experience untainted by commercial considerations.

Truthout retains a number of contributing writers - both on staff and via freelance venues - who provide original, incisive material on a regular basis. We also publish material from a variety of partner sites. All material we print is either original, obtained by permission or licensed through purchase. (We maintain content-sharing relationships with a variety of nonprofit and independent news websites, and additionally license content from Creators Syndicate, Truthdig, the Washington Post Writers Group, The New York Times Company and others.)

Your donation goes directly toward paying our hardworking staff of editors, reporters, designers and techies. Additionally, your money helps compensate contributing writers and may fund special projects like long-term investigations and multimedia content. It also keeps our servers up and running!
 
How can I support Truthout besides donating money?

Please help us spread the word! Tell your friends about Truthout, and direct them to our website. You can also join our Facebook group and follow us on Twitter.

Click here to start receiving our daily updates.

Nobody! As a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, Truthout exists for the benefit of the public good. Our board of directors does bear responsibility for Truthout, but ultimately we answer to you.

Marc Ash resigned in September 2009 after a suspension by Truthout's board of directors. Subsequently, the board of directors appointed Maya Schenwar executive director. Long-time managing editor Victoria Harper retains her position and heads up the editorial team, along with many long-time Truthout staffers (such as William Rivers Pitt, Jason Leopold and Leslie Thatcher).

What has changed at Truthout since the change in leadership?
 
Since the switch, we have deepened our already strong commitment to our mission of truthtelling. We've more than doubled our original content, producing a regular stream of groundbreaking, high-impact investigative reporting and innovative commentary. We have also established relationships and connections with a variety of other independent nonprofits, working to advance the progressive movement and the project of honest journalism.

See our 2009 annual report for more information about our progress!

For the past ten years, BuzzFlash has been a hallmark of the independent media community, providing headlines, news and commentary for a geographically diverse, pro-democracy, anti-hypocrisy web audience. BuzzFlash recently joined the Truthout community: its editor, Mark Karlin, joined Truthout's staff, bringing BuzzFlash along with him.

This is the type of collaboration that the progressive community needs urgently in these difficult times. The addition of BuzzFlash allows us to spread our message further and grow in impact, strengthening the independent media movement.

Are you a union shop?
 
We are! Truthout is a proud member of the nationwide Newspaper Guild/CWA, and has a union contract. We're committed to living our values and supporting labor rights. Truthout pays employees a living wage, ensures fair hours and advances the principles of a democratic workplace.

We have. In fall 2009, Truthout's budget was hanging on by a thread, and we had to conduct layoffs in order to survive. We notified our union ahead of time about all layoffs, and carried them out in accordance with union standards.

How much does the management at Truthout get paid?

The two management positions at Truthout are budgeted to receive a yearly salary of $60,000 each. However, because of the ongoing financial pinch at Truthout, the executive director is currently taking a reduced salary.

Do you pay employees a living wage?

Yes, we do. In accordance with our union contract, we have a minimum full-time staff salary of $30,000 per year.

Is it truth-out.org or truthout.org?

Both web addresses will lead you to the same location.

Good question. It's on the right side, about halfway down the page, beneath the BuzzFlash headlines. It doesn't function too well right now, but we're working on it, we promise.
 
Are you hiring?

Not right now ... we're working on getting our budget up to speed. But please send your resume to editor@truthout.org, and we'll definitely keep it on file.
 
Do you have an internship program?

We sure do! We offer paid, three-month internships each season. Send a resume, cover letter and clips to editor@truthout.org to apply.

Yes we do, and you can read last year's annual report here to see all the recent progress we've made.

If you'd like a free Truthout bumper sticker, all you have to do is ask. Email us at feedback@truthout.org with the subject line "Bumper Sticker Request." A $20-or-more monthly donation will get you your very own Truthout shirt!