" I support the Media Co-op because it gives contributors the freedom to tell stories, examine issues and reflect points of view that are not found anywhere else. The Media Co-op recognizes that journalism is about political choices. While mainstream media prefer to convey official points of view on behalf of the powerful, the Media Co-op encourages reporting from the perspectives of people most affected by political and economic decisions."
—Bruce Wark, freelance alternative reporter, retired mainstream journalist and journalism professor — now in recovery in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
"A healthy democracy is dependent on a lively diverse public sphere where citizens can consider and discuss issues that affect their lives. The Dominion provides a fresh, alternative voice that is often absent in mainstream media."
—Kim Kierans, Vice President, University of King's College, Professor, School of Journalism, Halifax, NS
"The launch of Sun TV is just the latest evidence of the overwhelmingly pro-corporate bias of the commercial media in Canada. To push back, our grass-roots movements desperately need the kind of well-researched, relevant, critical journalism provided every month by The Dominion. Thank you so much for what you do.”
—Jim Stanford, Economist, Canadian Auto Workers, and Author, Economics for Everyone, sustainer, Toronto, ON
"Most of the media we are subjected to in Canada is indentured to corporate power. If we want a future for our children and grandchildren where they are considered "citizens" rather than simply "consumers", we need to start building institutions that are independent of corporate control. The Dominion has the potential to be one of those institutions. It deserves our support: subscribe, donate, participate. "
—Chris Hannah, Propagandhi, subscriber
"I have been a sustaining member of the Dominion for a couple of years, now. In every issue of the Dominion, I get a glimpse into a Canada that I would otherwise not see. It is a difficult Canada, stories about people being mistreated; about environmental negligence and stupidity; about political bad faith and abuse of public trust. But what I also get is a sense of the work being done to deal with these problems across the country, even globally sometimes, and I think that's what I like most.
The Dominion writes for readers who not only want to read about the news, but who want to respond to it. Dominion stories are about Canada as a work-in-progress. I like being part of a community who knows that they have a say in how the news of the future turns out. That's how I see the Dominion, and why I'm a sustainer: it's a newspaper for people who know (or perhaps suspect) that they can influence what happens tomorrow - locally, regionally and as a country.
I am also a huge fan of the Media Coops, spaces where Canadians can bring their own stories forward and into public forums."
—Michael Lithgow, sustainer, Montreal, QC
"The Media Co-Op continues to inform and inspire me. Its coverage is literally unparalleled: both in the issues that it addresses (many of which aren't discussed elsewhere) and in the perspectives that it seeks to record and bring to its readership (the perspectives of social movements, of people directly affected by the policies of corporations and the Canadian state -- a whole panoply of people who don't appear in the rolodex of corporate journalism). This is a venture that I've long been happy to support as a sustainer. The Co-Op, of course, can't exist without the financial support of sustainers (we know what kind of journalism the world's deep-pocketed advertisers want to support). Sustainers are also offered an important and ongoing role in shaping the Co-Op (in helping to decide what stories are covered, how money is spent, and other policies). Sustainers help, in other words, to make the Co-Op what other media outlets aren't: a deeply democratic organization. It's a pleasure to be part of the Co-Op and I invite others to join me."
—Ted Rutland, professor of urban studies at Concordia University,
sustainer, Montreal, QC
"The Media Co-op goes in depth in covering stories that are underrepresented in the mainstream. They really pick apart issues and lay out how power works, and also profile people who are working to make the world a better place. You get to hear from people on the ground, not just politicians, police and PR people, about everything from street violence to farmland zoning to midwifery.
"Plus, as a member, I get to have a say in what gets covered and how the Co-op works. It feels truly democratic."
—Ben Sichel, high school teacher, Halifax
"VMC is journalism from the front lines of the movement to build and nourish real communities, and fight the ongoing war against capitalism on all its fronts. For any person with an interest in the narrative of real people, VMC is the place to be."
—Isaac Oommen, grad student in Communications, Vancouver
"The Vancouver Media Co-op has redefined the potential of local, independent media. We produce accurate and timely updates on actions that matter, open a critical space for reflection, debate and analysis, and form a strong connective tissue between diverse movements for justice and liberation. If you don't already support the Media Co-op, please consider throwing down: every penny goes to producing the kind of media the world so desperately needs."
—Dawn Paley, journalist and organizer with the VMC
"The Dominion: These people should be running this country but they are too busy running a newspaper. Sustain their work!"
—Karen Houle, philosophy professor, University of Guelph
Amy Goodman, Democracy Now:
"The greatest contribution that I appreciate from the Dominion is that one feels the energies, the focus of a new generation of Canadians taking stock of Canadian reality as it is."
—Jooneed Khan, journalist
"It would be a major contribution for the functioning of a free society to have independent news sources, free from corporate or state control, internally organized in ways that exemplify what a truly participatory and democratic society would be. I was therefore delighted to learn of the Dominion... an ambitious and impressive effort to fulfill this urgent need. I know of nothing like it, and wish it the greatest success, for the benefit of all of us."
—Noam Chomsky
"The best old school journalism understood that its purpose was to challenge power with unassailable facts; the best activist journalism knows that constructive resistance is fueled by media we can actually use. The Dominion represents the vital fusion of these two traditions: it deserves massive support."
—Avi Lewis, documentary filmmaker and journalist
"The Dominion is an incredible resource for movements to publicize their work towards justice and social transformation. I can trust it to carry the analysis of those most active on the critical issues within Canada."
—Sakura Saunders, editor, protestbarrick.net, Media Co-op contributor, Toronto.