The Real News Network (TRNN) is a news organization based in
Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...
, that covers both national and international news. It includes both for-profit arm and non-profit organizations.
History
TRNN was founded by documentary producer
Paul Jay and
Mishuk Munier in September 2003 in Toronto, with the goal of creating a news network that made complicated concepts accessible to the average person.
TRNN moved to Baltimore in June 2014, with the focus of telling stories about urban America, specifically focusing on the city's issues, including crime, education, and housing that are found throughout the United States.
Communications executive John Duda became the organization's executive director in June 2020.
Dharna Noor used to lead the climate team at TRNN.
Maximillian Alvarez became Editor-in-Chief. He was formerly a temporary warehouse worker, an experience which he says impacts whose stories he covers and how.
Funding
In January 2007, Paul Jay told the
Daily Kos
Daily Kos ( ) is a group blog and internet forum focused on the U.S. Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party and Modern liberalism in the United States, liberal American politics. The site publishes blog posts, polls, election and cam ...
that TRNN did not accept funding from advertising, governments, or corporations. In December 2018,
Baltimore Magazine quoted Jay as saying the budget was $3.3 million which accrued from large and small donations from viewers and foundations, as well as a for-profit segment.
Content
As of 2019, TRNN produced five-to-seven minute news reports available online or
video on demand
Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos, television shows and films Digital distribution, digitally on request. These multimedia are accessed without a traditional video playback device and a typica ...
.
In 2016, former Black Panther
Marshall "Eddie" Conway
Marshall "Eddie" Conway (April 23, 1946 – February 13, 2023) was an American black nationalist and a leading member of the Baltimore chapter of the Black Panther Party. He was convicted in 1971 for the murder of a police officer. Conway and hi ...
became the host and producer of "Rattling the Bars," a weekly investigative program about prison systems in the US and abroad.
TRNN's Police Accountability Report was led by investigative reporters Taya Graham and Stephen Janis. They were some of the first journalists to cover the story of Anton Black, a 19 year old who died after being pinned to the ground by police in rural Maryland.
Independent journalist Michael Fox's podcast "Brazil on Fire" is a joint project of The Real News Network and
NACLA.
See also
*
Alternative media
Alternative media are media sources that differ from established forms of media, such as mainstream media or mass media, in terms of their content, production, or distribution.Downing, John (2001). ''Radical Media''. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publica ...
*
Independent media
Independent media refers to any media (communication), media, such as television, newspapers, or Internet-based publications free of influence by government or corporate interests. The term has varied applications. Independence stands as a corne ...
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Real News
2007 establishments in Ontario
2007 establishments in the United States
Alternative journalism organizations
American news websites
Broadcasting websites
Canadian news websites
Citizen journalism
Internet properties established in 2007
Internet television channels
Investigative journalism
Media analysis organizations and websites
News agencies based in Canada
News agencies based in the United States
Mass media in Baltimore
Mass media in Toronto