This is the weekly newsletter of OptOut, a news aggregation app for exclusively independent media that's currently in beta testing for iOS (download it now!). Find out more about the app at optout.news.
OptOut is thrilled to announce that our soft launch on the Apple App Store is just around the corner! We're putting the finishing touches on the first news aggregation app for exclusively independent media and can't wait to share it with the world. And not long after that, we will release the Android beta.
We really appreciate those of you who downloaded the iOS beta and sent us valuable feedback, and those of you who have provided us with the funds that made all of this possible!
The week's news roundup features content from our 115+ financially independent media outlets about Covid-19, sketchy stock trading in Congress, local media's struggle to stay afloat, and climate change, among other topics.
Your News Update From the Voices You Won't Find in Corporate Media
Covid-19
Emma Vigeland and Matt Binder of The Majority Report discuss how leftist-turned-rightwing comedian Jimmy Dore has embraced anti-vaccine conspiracy theories—and is losing fans as a result.
PRISM offers up some powerful coverage of the teacher and student protests that happened this week as schools were forced to remain open amid the Omicron surge.
Jordan Chariton at Status Coup conducted a series of important interviews with nurses and hospital workers about what their experiences have been throughout the pandemic and with Omicron specifically.
The American Prospect put out a must-read op-ed from Revolving Door Project urging President Biden to fire his COVID response coordinator, Jeff Zients, a former Wall Street executive.
Discourse Blog has a new analysis of CDC Director Rochelle Walensky’s infamous and ableist remarks on ‘Good Morning America.’ Walensky said, “The overwhelming number of deaths—over 75 percent—occurred in people who had at least four comorbidities. So really, these are people who were unwell to begin with. And yes: really encouraging news in the context of Omicron.” This post is for paid subscribers.
Insider Trading
"While Congress was considering the bipartisan infrastructure framework (BIF) and the BBB, several U.S. House members were making frequent trades in the stocks of oil and gas pipeline companies that stand to benefit from BIF’s provisions," reports Sludge.
At the same time, Congress is considering a much-needed bill that would ban members and their families from trading stocks while they're in office. The Rational National explains:
OptOut needs your help to power our independent media network in 2022!
Your donations will fund news curation of the app, tech development to enhance it, and marketing to get this vital content in front of as many people as possible. We have high hopes for next year, but we can't work towards our goals without your support.
We have a goal of raising $20,000 in the first quarter of this year to launch and market the OptOut app!
Please make a tax-deductible donation of $25 or more to the OptOut Media Foundation to fund our official launch! We really appreciate your generosity.
The Media
FAIR's Counterspin podcast interviews Free Press Co-CEO Craig Aaron, who details the downfall of local media at the hands of corporate giants.
On The Real News Network's The Marc Steiner Show, Steiner addresses the same important issue.
Marc speaks with Robert W. McChesney and John Nichols about how the slow death of America’s journalism ecosystem in the digital age has corresponded with the disintegration of the social fabric of the American republic.
Climate
Emily Atkin of HEATED did an analysis of the new Netflix film "Don’t Look Up." Atkin argues that commentary on climate change does not need to exactly match the complexity of the crisis.
New from The Flashpoint: Eoin Higgins interviews people whose lives have been affected by catastrophe and disaster about their ideological move to the left. The post is for paid subscribers.
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In Other News
Buy this new book from The Brick House Cooperative that challenges the publishing industry's rent-seeking effort to make libraries perpetual customers.
Megapublishers have been engaging in increasingly predatory pricing for digital books, and in recent years they’ve begun to attack libraries. They’ve sued the Internet Archive, in an attempt to destroy its Open Library; they’ve sued to block legislation that would guarantee libraries fair pricing for digital books.
Why?
Corporate publishers want books to become like movies on Netflix: products that you pay to rent, but can never really own. Evidently they want books to be a service you have to keep paying for, forever.
The Markup has an interesting investigation about a private equity firm that's collecting reams of data on American children.
About OptOut
OptOut is an independent news aggregation app developed by the OptOut Media Foundation, a nonprofit charity devoted to assisting independent news outlets (EIN: 852348079). The app will launch in the Apple App Store in early 2022, and an Android version will follow. See the links below for more information.
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