Originally published November 26 2005
The Declaration of Journalistic Interdependence
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
This Declaration of Journalistic INTERdependence replaces the former Declaration of Journalistic Independence previously found at this URL.
Previous to September, 2008, NaturalNews operated on the basis of the Declaration of Journalistic Independence, which meant we never earned money from the products we reviewed or recommended (in other words, we did not use affiliate links).
Over these nearly five years (Dec. 2003 - Sep. 2008), we published more than 23,000 articles and news summaries, posted more than 100 exclusive interviews and created more than 20 free books and special reports that have been downloaded over twenty-five million times in all.
We did this without earning any money whatsoever from the companies and products we recommended.
This was done out of the belief that erecting a financial firewall between editorial and revenue departments would reinforce the level of integrity and professionalism we bring to NaturalNews articles and product reviews. That professionalism and integrity is now well known throughout the natural health community.
In August, 2008, we revolutionized our thinking about financing the pursuit of our mission to protect sustainable life on planet Earth. This breakthrough philosophy on attracting wealth to be used for constructive purposes is outlined in our popular report, "The 7 Principles of Mindful Wealth," available to read for free at: http://www.naturalnews.com/Report_Mindful_We...
That philosophy teaches that money is not, by itself, good or evil, but rather the way in which money is attracted and redistributed determines its nature. Here at NaturalNews, we have now embraced this philosophy in our attraction and redistribution of wealth in a way that protects life and enhances the health and empowerment of consumers.
This philosophy says that since wealth is a representation of power and resources, the world will be a better place as the flow of more wealth is influenced by mindful, informed individuals who prioritize the protection of sustainable life on Earth. Thus, people like you and I who have proven ourselves to be high-integrity stewards of money have a moral obligation to accumulate and redistribute vast amounts of wealth. (Read the free report for a full explanation of this principle.)
NaturalNews both EARNS and REDISTRIBUTES wealth in conscious, compassionate ways. We only profit from products and services that greatly benefit people, and we regularly redistribute money to those who need it. For example, we've donated tens of thousands of dollars to victims of every major natural disaster in recent history: The Tsunami near Indonesia, the deadly earthquake in Taiwan, and more recently the victims of hurricane Gustav, where we donated $20,000 worth of emergency LED lights and radios to the people who lost power in the hurricane aftermath.
We've donated tens of thousands of dollars to World War II Veterans, public safety initiatives and education programs. In Ecuador, for example, we are now sponsoring students, paying for their uniforms, books and school tuition to help them complete high school.
We're still working on programs to donate nutrition grants to elementary schools and high-grade nutritional supplements (and educational materials) to expectant mothers, but we need considerably more funds to accomplish that.
Financial INTERdependence
This leads me to the principle of financial INTERdependence. Just as NaturalNews readers depend on this publication to deliver timely, informative news and product recommendations, NaturalNews depends on support from its reader base to continue pursuing its mission.
To accomplish this, we are now embracing affiliate relationships with providers of certain products that benefit our readers, such as Aquasana water filters. This relationship (which is always fully disclosed to our readers) allows us to earn operating revenues while providing coverage of products that greatly benefit the people who read NaturalNews.
All such product affiliations are made in full alignment with our 7 Principles of Mindful Wealth. We will never promote harmful or less-than-outstanding products, regardless of how much money might be at stake.
We are also placing affiliate shopping links on our site to selected health product retailers we have determined to offer honest, high-quality products at value-focused prices. Through these links, our readers can voluntarily choose to earmark a portion of their purchases for financial support to NaturalNews. This is entirely their choice, of course.
We depend on our readers for support
By placing ourselves in a position of receiving fair compensation from the sales of selected products we recommend, we become interdependent with our audience, allowing our readers' purchases to help support our mission and our growth.
By openly disclosing this relationship to our readers while ensuring all such recommendations adhere to our demanding standards for quality products, we adhere to our mission of educating readers while allowing them to voluntarily support our growth, if they so choose.
Here at NaturalNews, we believe this shift is not only the right way to continue funding our important mission of public education, it is our moral obligation to ethically accumulate considerably more funding to further our important cause. As we have demonstrated time and time again over the past five years, our cause is one of protecting sustainable life on our planet while ending the pain and suffering caused by conventional medicine charlatans and Big Pharma criminals. We believe in supporting and protecting the health and lives of people, plants, animals and ecosystems.
In demonstrating our commitment to that cause, we have called for the arrest and prosecution of FDA and EPA officials, we've warned millions of readers about the dangers of Big Pharma's toxic chemicals, we've exercised a phenomenal degree of Free Speech by daring to tell the truth about natural cancer cures, and we have risked our own personal freedoms by daring to speak out against the establishment in ways that other people have been arrested (or silenced) for.
Our resume speaks for itself: You will simply not find a more dedicated, outspoken and courageous voice in the natural health industry than NaturalNews.com.
It is now time for us to stop operating in a state of financial distress and start attracting and directing the kind of financial resources we've brought to so many others. Our readers are depending on us to provide valuable, lifesaving content, and we are depending on our readers to help voluntarily support us so that we can continue our important mission.
You see, it is no longer a question of how we can stay separated from our reader support; it is a question of how we can work together in a way that keeps us functioning to the benefit of us all. If our revenue sources dry up, we can help no one, but with steady revenue from ethical sources, we can help millions (and we intend to do so).
This is why we have now changed the name of this document to The Declaration of Journalistic Interdependence. We depend on each other for mutual support.
I pledge that NaturalNews shall continue to pursue its important mission of bringing you truthful, timely feature stories, product reviews, exclusive interviews and other content that empowers you with the knowledge you need to protect and enhance your health.
I thank you for your ongoing support, and all of us here at NaturalNews look forward to expanding our reach and empowering millions more people with the truth about nutritional cures, superfood nutrients and the dangers of pharmaceuticals and conventional cancer treatments.
We do not have the funding of the ultra-wealthy pharmaceutical industry to back us up. We have only your support. We stand for the abolition of monopoly patents, the ending of Free Speech restrictions on herbs and supplements, the empowerment of women with information about prenatal nutrition, and the ending of the FDA's 100-year reign of terror against the People (not to mention the AMA's conspiracy to destroy alternative medicine).
May we count on your support in pursuing this important mission?
Thank you for reading our Declaration of Journalistic Interdependence, and we thank you in advance for your financial support.
- Mike Adams
The Health Ranger
Editor of NaturalNews.com
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