These are dangerous times. The use of misinformation is skyrocketing. Frontline communities are being criminalized. Defenders and journalists are being killed. We are being silenced—and with the growing impacts of climate change, it’s only going to get worse.
More and more of us are standing up in the face of these overwhelming odds. Here at IC, we have spent the last 15 years covering the untold side of the story where Indigenous Peoples risk everything to stop the industries and governments that have brought us to the razor’s edge. Now, we have a chance to bring our unique brand of tactical and investigative journalism to broadcast television.
This summer, the Indigenous TV broadcaster FNX asked us to produce a show that covers the Indigenous world. It’s a huge opportunity not just for IC, but for all Indigenous Peoples globally! FNX reaches more than 47 million households—and that’s just in the United States!
We have to seize this opportunity. There’s no question. But we don’t have the time, the resources or the staff to produce a quality show. We need your help!
In January 2020, we are planning to launch the podcast version of our TV show, the Indigenous Rights Report.
The Indigenous Rights Report is currently published weekly.
With this podcast, we will be able to explore different formats for our FNX show and buy us the time we need to identify investors and partners, finalize agreements, and work out the show’s logistics. It will also help us cover the perennial cost of researching stories for our show while giving you a great way to stay on top of the week’s biggest stories.
We can’t rely on major TV networks, newspapers or online publishers to tell our stories accurately or in a timely fashion. We have to do it ourselves. That is why we aren’t asking you for money. We are offering you a stake in our show.
We want to work with you while ensuring our economic and editorial independence (all stories subject to committee approval).
As a volunteer-run organization, we are exceptionally good at doing more with less. That is why we have carefully planned out everything we need, down to the nearest dollar.
Here’s a full breakdown of the first phase of our campaign:
How your money will be used
All donations will go to our fiscal sponsor, The Center for World Indigenous Studies (CWIS), a US-based 501C3. They, in turn, will distribute the funds to IC as needed.
After we reach our target goal of $6385, we will begin phase two of our plan, which centers on hiring and paying a fair wage to everyone we need to produce a quality show.
This is the most important fundraiser in IC’s 15 year history. Once we reach our target goal, we will be able to inform, challenge and inspire tens of millions of people; and put a huge spotlight on dozens of frontline struggles around the world. It also gives you a chance to say in one collective voice that we will not be silenced.
All you have to do is give whatever you think that’s worth.
Any questions, comments, ideas? Please contact our Editor in Chief, John Ahni Schertow (intercontinentalcry@gmail.com)
Indigenous Peoples are putting their bodies on the line and it's our responsibility to make sure you know why. That takes time, expertise and resources - and we're up against a constant tide of misinformation and distorted coverage. By supporting IC you're empowering the kind of journalism we need, at the moment we need it most.
