Freedom is great.

Until it is gone.

Americans who have lived abroad appreciate how much they took for granted. Societies that grant basic freedoms to its citizens flourish.

Consider South Korea which boomed following the Korean War as it adopted a constitution reinforcing fundamental freedoms. Now, as recently reported by the Free Press Media Group, a stealth move is afoot to strip references to “freedom” in the nation’s constitution as ruling forces increasingly control the media in alignment with communist China.

Words and media matter. But allow me to be frank.

The “Free” Press seems free to most end users. It is not. Who pays the bills?

Although overhead expenses are less in the Internet age, today’s alternative media publishers cannot rely on independently wealthy news professionals to do “shoe leather reporting.” Covering the real news is a real full time job.

Having spent most of my adult life in “the media,” I can confirm what might not be obvious: The news business is not a good short-term financial investment.

The days when paid advertising and subscriptions could sustain operations and pay a team of real reporters and editors are long gone. That’s bad news for humanity.

We are seeing more bad decisions including acts of violence that are based on information that is neither authoritative nor fact-based.

Today, your favorite “news” platform [except WorldTribune.com] likely employs a relative handful of stressed “journalists” who are not free to report the “truth” as they know it and are expected to produce quantity, not quality “news.” They are paid for their ability to discern and deliver what their funding source is looking for and live in fear of getting it wrong.

A few of us can still remember a time when such newsroom dynamics were unthinkable.

The consolidation of news operations and advertising networks made commercial survival difficult for local and medium sized companies. The monopolistic juggernaut of social media platforms has been the last straw especially after they began using their enormous unchecked power to censor editorial content.

Today, most “news” organizations are subsidized by moneyed interests with principles and ideals that have little to do with freedom of the press as protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The result is a crisis both for the news media and for nations whose best interests are not being served.

Many advisors at Free Press Foundation and other colleagues know real journalists who could not in good conscience publish commercials disguised as objective truth. Some have literally lost their livelihoods because their integrity as news professionals was not for sale.

For us, this state of affairs is personal. More importantly it poses a threat American exceptionalism with global implications.

This 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization exists to support such journalists and train their successors. Furthermore, we are confident that in the long term the market will support publishers aligned with the precepts stated at FreePressFoundation.org. The free market cannot continue to support “fake news.”

In the meantime, thank you in advance for supporting our work with your generous tax-deductible contribution! Your descendants will be proud and grateful.

Robert Morton, Chairman     Free Press Foundation

P.S. I look forward to discussing these issues in person. Don’t hesitate to get in touch.