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A new name... The Real News is coming to TV

To: IWT supporters, advisors and members:

We have exciting news. After a great deal of thought and consultation, we have decided on a new name that communicates our vision for our independent TV news network... The Real News.

We think The Real News better reflects our mission: to broadcast world news that cuts through the bull. The Real News is about reporting on the world as it is, without compromising... No corporate dollars. No government funding. No commercials. No strings.

We are preparing to launch a massive public support and membership campaign this September to bring The Real News to television and the web. The campaign launch will include a new website, TheRealNews.com, where we will be showcasing specially-produced sample video content that communicates the depth and daring of what The Real News will be all about. This weekly video content will feature short docs, comedy media satire spots and a taste of what's to come with our flagship news show, The Real News Daily. We will take on current TV news coverage of important stories and ask: did they get the story right or wrong? What's the real story and how would The Real News cover it?

Get more details on how we are going to make The Real News a reality by downloading our new and comprehensive business plan. This bold road map is the product of more than two years of study, testing, consultation and relationship- building. It lays out a concrete vision for how we will launch The Real News Daily in 2007. Visit www.TheRealNews.com and see a preview of our new look. Read our plan and tell us what you think. We need your help NOW to make The Real News a reality.

New Video Interview: David Suzuki. In this interview he sounds the alarm saying that climate change is a slow motion catastrophe. Dr. Suzuki calls on the media to take responsibility for the fact that the issue of climate change is still seen as controversial, even though the vast majority of climatologists in the world call for urgent action now.

Below are the opening lines of our business plan.

Witness the perilous times we live in:

* The intensification of the global struggle for control of oil

* The undermining of democracies, human rights and international law

* The waging of illegal wars and occupations

* A majority of people suffering in dire poverty

* Impending irreversible environmental damage

* Millions dying globally from inaction on AIDS

* Massive state and corporate corruption

* The threat of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons

* Powerful forces driven by apocalyptic visions and dreams of empire

Democracy depends on an informed public and a courageous press. Yet on television, where most people get their news, propaganda and spin are reported as reality and facts are treated as just a matter of opinion. In-depth investigative journalism and real debate are seldom heard. Timidity and a reluctance to challenge the official version of events permeate television newsrooms.

We must not sleepwalk into war or tyranny. The world situation is too dangerous not to know the complexity of things. We need television journalism that dares to seek truth and does not bow to pressure. We need The Real News.

Click to read The Real News business plan. We need your help to make The Real News a reality.

posted by Annamarie at 1:29 PM