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Common Dreams
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Common Dreams NewsCenter, often referred to simply as Common Dreams, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, U.S.-based news website with a stated goal of serving the progressive community. Common Dreams publishes news stories, editorials, and a newswire of current, breaking news.
Key Information
Common Dreams also re-publishes relevant content from other sources such as the Associated Press and has published writers such as Robert Reich and Molly Ivins. The website also provides links to other relevant columnists, periodicals, radio outlets, news services, and websites.
History
[edit]Inspiration for the name, "Common Dreams", came from the book title, The Twilight of Common Dreams: Why America Is Wracked by Culture Wars, written by Todd Gitlin and published in 1995.
The nonprofit organization, Common Dreams, was founded in 1996 by political consultant Craig Brown, and the News Center was launched the following year, in May 1997, by Brown and his wife, Lina Newhouser (1951–2008). Brown, a native of Massachusetts, has a long history in progressive politics. He was the director of the Maine Public Interest Research Group from 1973 to 1977 and worked on the presidential campaigns of U.S. Senator Alan Cranston and U.S. Senator Paul Simon. Brown also served from 1990 to 1994 as chief of staff for Tom Andrews.[1] Part of Brown's job was to compile news for Representative Andrews, which gave Brown the impetus to do the same on the internet.[2]
During the Kosovo War, Common Dreams hosted the "Drumbeats of War" site which, according to the BBC, presented "a round-up of interesting articles with wide-ranging points of view that have previously appeared in newspapers and journals across the United States."[3] Common Dreams is also known for its strong anti-war stance.[4][5]
Common Dreams is funded through subscriptions and donations from its readers and does not have advertising.[citation needed]
Featured authors
[edit]Common Dreams has featured original articles by the following authors:
- Eric Alterman
- Noam Chomsky
- Alexander Cockburn
- Jeff Cohen
- Juan Cole
- Joe Conason
- David Corn
- Linh Dinh
- Robert Fisk
- Amy Goodman
- Tom Hayden
- Bob Herbert
- Jim Hightower
- Arianna Huffington
- Molly Ivins
- Jesse Jackson
- Kathy Kelly
- Naomi Klein
- Paul Krugman
- Michael Lerner
- Michael Moore
- Ralph Nader
- Laura Packard
- Harold Pinter
- Ted Rall
- Robert Reich
- Frank Rich
- Arundhati Roy
- Jeffrey Sachs[6]
- Bernie Sanders
- Robert Scheer
- Cindy Sheehan[7]
- Katrina vanden Heuvel
- Howard Zinn
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "CommonDreams.org 'about us'".
- ^ Rob, Kelley (4 February 2007). "War on the Web Four: sites worth checking out". Willamette Week. Portland, Oregon. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007.
- ^ "Kosovo - the conflict on the Web". BBC News. June 14, 1999. Retrieved January 2, 2010.
- ^ Campbell, Duncan (26 September 2001). "Internet Gives Peace a Chance; The anti-war movement has been fuelled by counter-cultural online news services, making it very different from its Vietnam predecessor". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2024-04-26.
- ^ Nieves, Evelyn (16 February 2003). "Antiwar Organizer's Politics Cause Rift; In a letter on the Web site Commondreams.org, more than 150 of the most notable progressive writers and intellectuals in the country". The Washington Post. p. A22.
- ^ Jeffrey Sachs; Sybil Fares (20 August 2025). "The US Can End the Gaza Genocide Now". Common Dreams. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
- ^ Kirkpatrick, David (2 February 2006). "Two T-Shirts, Two Messages and Two Capitol Ejections". The New York Times.
External links
[edit]Common Dreams
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History
Founding and Early Years (1997–2000)
Common Dreams was founded in 1997 by Craig Brown, a Democratic political consultant and community organizer, and his wife, Lina Newhouser.[1][8] Brown, who had previously served as campaign manager and chief of staff to U.S. Representative Tom Andrews (D-ME) and co-founded the Congressional Progressive Caucus in 1991, established the organization as a nonprofit newscenter to advance progressive causes including social justice, human rights, equality, and peace.[9] The name derived from sociologist Todd Gitlin's 1995 book The Twilight of Common Dreams: Why America Can't Have Nice Things Anymore, reflecting a critique of cultural divisions hindering shared progressive ideals.[1] From its inception, Common Dreams positioned itself as an early adopter of internet-based media, one of the first online publications harnessing the web for what its founders described as radical media activism and citizen-driven journalism.[4] Operating without advertising or corporate funding, it emphasized reader-supported independence to avoid external influences on editorial content, focusing instead on aggregating news wires, original editorials, and commentary aimed at informing and mobilizing progressive audiences.[2] This model contrasted with traditional print and broadcast outlets by prioritizing digital accessibility and activist-oriented narratives over commercial viability.[5] In the period spanning 1997 to 2000, the organization built its initial audience through daily updates of breaking news and opinion pieces, often featuring contributions from progressive thinkers and serving as a hub for left-leaning discourse during events like the 2000 U.S. presidential election buildup.[1] Brown continued as executive director, guiding operations from Portland, Maine, where the entity maintained a small staff dedicated to curating content that challenged mainstream media perspectives on policy and social issues.[10] By 2000, Common Dreams had established a foundation as a nonpartisan yet ideologically aligned platform, with millions of eventual monthly readers tracing back to these formative years of web-native progressive journalism.[11]Expansion and Key Milestones (2001–Present)
Common Dreams expanded its reach in the early 2000s as an early online hub for progressive dissent, particularly following the September 11, 2001 attacks, when it facilitated rapid dissemination of anti-war perspectives amid mainstream media alignment with government narratives. A Guardian report from September 26, 2001, identified Common Dreams as one of the pioneering internet platforms enabling global coordination of peace activism, marking an initial surge in traffic and influence within activist networks opposed to impending military interventions. By the mid-2000s, the organization solidified its nonprofit 501(c)(3) status, enabling tax-deductible donations that sustained operations without advertising or corporate funding, a model emphasized by co-founder Craig Brown to preserve editorial independence.[1] This structure supported steady content growth, including expanded syndication of opinion pieces and press releases on issues like the Iraq War occupation and the 2008 financial crisis, contributing to a readership of hundreds of thousands by the 2010s.[2] Key operational milestones include the passing of co-founder Lina Newhouser, after which Brown continued as executive director, maintaining the site's focus on social justice and human rights coverage. The platform's resilience through economic downturns and media consolidation allowed it to cover pivotal events such as the Occupy Wall Street movement in 2011 and ongoing climate activism, without significant staff expansion but with consistent reader-driven funding.[8] Over 25 years since inception, Common Dreams has reached millions cumulatively via digital distribution, though precise traffic metrics remain undisclosed, underscoring its niche role in reader-supported independent journalism rather than mass-market scaling.[2]Organizational Structure and Funding
Nonprofit Status and Governance
Common Dreams operates as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization under U.S. law, with Employer Identification Number (EIN) 20-3368194, enabling it to receive tax-deductible donations to the full extent allowable.[12][3] Its tax-exempt status was granted by the Internal Revenue Service effective June 2007, classifying it for educational and charitable purposes such as providing public education on social, economic, and civic issues.[3] The organization files annual IRS Form 990 returns, disclosing financials, activities, and governance details, with recent evaluations from Charity Navigator assigning it a 3/4 star rating based on accountability, finance, and impact metrics.[13][3] Governance is handled by a board of directors, which oversees strategic direction and compliance. As of data self-reported in 2022, Kimberly Monaghan serves as board chair, affiliated with the Maine House of Representatives, while Craig S. Brown holds the position of executive director, a role he has maintained since the organization's founding.[14][1] Form 990 filings list additional board members and officers, including Marta Daniels and Brenda (surname not fully detailed in summaries), with some, like Monaghan, receiving compensation for dual roles such as project management (e.g., $81,000 in a recent year).[3] Brown, as executive director, received $175,000 in compensation in the most recent available filing, reflecting the organization's reliance on key personnel for operations in its Portland, Maine headquarters.[3] This structure aligns with standard nonprofit practices for small media entities, emphasizing donor-supported independence without corporate or government underwriting, though filings confirm no independent audit for organizations under $500,000 in revenue in some years.[12][15]Revenue Model and Donor Influences
Common Dreams operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, deriving its revenue primarily from individual donations solicited through reader appeals on its website and email campaigns, with supplementary grants from select nonprofit foundations. The organization explicitly rejects corporate advertising, sponsorships, government funding, and paid content to maintain editorial independence. In 2023, total revenue reached approximately $1.18 million, of which contributions accounted for 97.1% ($1.14 million), program service revenue (such as syndication fees) contributed 2.9% ($34,225), and investment income was negligible ($98).[3] Expenses exceeded revenue that year at $1.44 million, resulting in a net operating deficit.[3] Foundational support, while secondary to grassroots donations, includes grants from progressive-aligned entities such as the Wallace Action Fund, Lear Family Foundation (associated with television producer Norman Lear), Fonda Family Foundation (linked to activist Jane Fonda), Park Foundation, and Chicago Community Trust. These foundations typically fund causes emphasizing social justice, environmentalism, and anti-corporate advocacy, aligning with Common Dreams' progressive focus.[12][16][17] The organization's financial disclosures via IRS Form 990 do not itemize individual donors exceeding certain thresholds for privacy, but aggregate contribution data underscores reliance on diffuse small-dollar support rather than concentrated large gifts.[3] Critics, including analyses from conservative-leaning watchdogs, argue that foundation funding from ideologically sympathetic sources introduces potential biases, despite Common Dreams' claims of donor non-interference, as grantors often prioritize outlets advancing shared policy agendas like wealth redistribution and climate activism. No public evidence documents explicit editorial directives from donors, but the pattern of support from entities with left-of-center priorities—such as the Fonda and Lear foundations—raises questions about indirect influences on topic selection and framing, particularly given the opacity of private foundation grant-making.[1] Independent reviews on platforms like GreatNonprofits have similarly noted discrepancies between the site's "people-powered" rhetoric and dependence on major philanthropic backers.[18]Mission, Ideology, and Operations
Stated Mission and Editorial Principles
Common Dreams articulates its mission as "To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good."[2][13] The organization describes itself as a reader-supported independent news outlet established in 1997 to deliver breaking news and analysis oriented toward the progressive community, operating as a nonprofit without corporate advertising or paywalls.[19][2] This mission underscores a commitment to covering underreported issues and fostering public engagement on topics such as social justice, environmental protection, and economic inequality, with an emphasis on reader donations to sustain editorial autonomy.[2][12] The outlet's ethics policy mandates that staff uphold "the highest principles of fairness, accuracy, objectivity, and responsible independent reporting," positioning Common Dreams as an entity that aids audiences in navigating global complexities by "connect[ing] the dots."[20] Complementing this, its fact-checking policy requires reporters to exercise precision in language, headlines, and sourcing, recognizing the influence of words and obligating responsible conduct to verify claims before publication.[21] Corrections and updates are issued promptly when inaccuracies arise, reflecting a procedural dedication to factual integrity.[22] Editorial guidelines for content, particularly opinion submissions, prioritize pieces offering a "unique, timely, and progressive perspective" as original analysis, signaling an intentional alignment with left-leaning viewpoints while prohibiting paid advocacy or undisclosed conflicts.[23] Republishing rules enforce non-alteration of material and retention of original links to preserve context and attribution.[24] These principles collectively frame Common Dreams' operations as driven by a progressive ideological lens, distinct from claims of strict neutrality, with independence maintained through diversified small-donor funding supplemented by select nonprofit grants.[2][12]Content Production and Distribution Practices
Common Dreams produces content through a combination of original independent reporting, opinion pieces, and curated republished material from wire services and external sources. The organization accepts unsolicited submissions of opinion essays and op-eds, typically 800-1,100 words in length, that align with a progressive perspective and address timely national or international issues; these must be submitted as final drafts via email, with no payment offered to contributors.[23] [2] All submissions undergo editorial review, including fact-checking, proofing, and potential revisions to headlines or structure, though minimal back-and-forth occurs due to volume; unpublished pieces receive no individual feedback.[23] Editorial practices emphasize separation of news content—labeled under headlines and newswire sections—from opinion material, with a commitment to verifying information from primary sources, promptly correcting errors, and minimizing anonymous sourcing except in exceptional cases approved editorially.[20] The ethics policy, aligned with the Society of Professional Journalists' code, requires fairness by presenting multiple viewpoints where applicable, disclosing conflicts of interest, and avoiding distortion or undue influence from donors, while acknowledging that absolute objectivity may be unattainable but fairness remains mandatory.[20] Content distribution occurs primarily through the organization's ad-free website, which serves as a centralized online hub reaching millions of global readers, supplemented by a daily email newsletter delivering news and progressive opinions directly to subscribers.[2] [25] The Progressive Newswire, maintained by Common Dreams, aggregates and disseminates press releases, statements, and action alerts from over 200 progressive advocacy groups, think tanks, and lawmakers, functioning as a daily aggregation service to amplify community voices.[26] Published works are released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 license, permitting non-commercial republishing by others with attribution but prohibiting edits beyond time, location, or style adjustments.[23]Content and Contributors
Core Topics and Coverage Patterns
Common Dreams' core topics center on progressive priorities such as climate change and environmental justice, economic inequality and corporate accountability, peace and anti-war activism, civil liberties and human rights, and critiques of conservative political figures and policies.[19][27] The site's news aggregation and original reporting frequently highlight issues like government inaction on global warming, with initiatives such as the "89% Project" emphasizing public demand for climate policies supported by 89% of respondents in a 2025 global survey.[28] Coverage of economic topics often frames corporate influence and wealth disparities as threats to democracy, positioning advocacy for wealth taxes, labor rights, and anti-monopoly measures as solutions for the "99%."[18] In foreign policy and peace domains, Common Dreams consistently addresses U.S. military interventions, nuclear proliferation risks, and human rights abuses abroad, such as critiques of American isolationism under Republican leadership or support for diplomatic resolutions in conflicts like those in Venezuela.[29][30] Social justice themes recur, including racial equity, immigrant rights, and opposition to policies perceived as discriminatory, with articles amplifying voices from activist groups on topics like refugee crises and workplace religious impositions.[31][32] Coverage patterns reveal a structure dominated by opinion and syndicated content over neutral reporting, with opinion pieces comprising a significant portion of daily output and often blending advocacy with analysis to "ignite change."[33] The site syndicates from progressive organizations like 350.org for environmental stories and features newswires that prioritize grassroots movements and underreported protests, such as anti-authoritarian demonstrations.[26] Political coverage skews toward scrutiny of right-leaning administrations, exemplified by extensive 2025 reporting on opposition to executive actions, including marathon congressional speeches against policy shifts and analyses of free speech restrictions on campuses.[34][35] This approach results in selective emphasis on narratives challenging mainstream media, with frequent claims of corporate bias in coverage of popular movements or international relations.[36][37] Quantitative patterns, drawn from site sections, show politics and opinion as primary categories, with environmental and human rights topics integrated across feeds but amplified during activist peaks, such as post-election mobilizations.[38]Prominent Authors and Syndication
Common Dreams features contributions from a core team of staff writers and editors who produce original reporting and opinion pieces focused on progressive causes, alongside external columnists and occasional pieces from prominent activists and intellectuals. Key staff authors include Abby Zimet, who has written the site's "Further" column since 2008, covering social justice, anti-war efforts, and refugee rights with an emphasis on grassroots activism. [8] Jon Queally, managing editor since 2007, regularly contributes articles on U.S. politics, foreign policy, and climate issues, drawing from his background in independent journalism. [8] Other notable staff writers encompass Jake Johnson, who joined full-time in 2017 after freelancing, specializing in economic inequality and labor rights; [8] Andrea Germanos, a senior editor since 2007 with expertise in environmental and food justice topics; [8] and Brett Wilkins, focusing on human rights and conflict reporting from a peace advocacy perspective. [8] External contributors often include figures aligned with left-leaning scholarship and activism, such as Robert C. Koehler, an award-winning Chicago-based journalist whose syndicated columns on peace and nonviolence appear on the site. [39] Paul Street, holding a doctorate in U.S. history and former vice president for research at the Chicago Urban League, provides historical analyses critiquing capitalism and imperialism. [40] Chuck Collins, a senior scholar at the progressive Institute for Policy Studies, writes on wealth inequality and tax policy, informed by his research on economic disparities. [41] Longtime occasional contributors like Bill Moyers, the veteran journalist and broadcaster, have penned pieces on democracy and oligarchy until his passing in 2025, reflecting his decades-long advocacy for public media and civil liberties. [42] These authors' works frequently emphasize systemic critiques of corporate power and U.S. foreign policy, sourced from empirical data on inequality and conflict but often framed through ideological lenses favoring radical reform. Regarding syndication, Common Dreams operates as an aggregator and originator rather than a traditional syndicator, republishing select content from external sources like news services and linking to allied periodicals while producing originals under its nonprofit model. [5] It licenses its material for non-commercial republishing via Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0, requiring attribution and prohibiting sales, commercial syndication, or distribution on aggregator platforms such as Apple News or Google News. [24] This approach facilitates wide dissemination among progressive outlets and activists—reaching millions daily—without paywalls or ads, though it restricts derivative uses to maintain editorial control. [2] Some contributors, like Koehler, maintain separate national syndication deals elsewhere, amplifying Common Dreams' reach indirectly through cross-publication. [39] The site's practices prioritize accessibility for a "community of thinkers and doers" over proprietary syndication revenue, aligning with its reader-supported structure established in 1997. [2]Bias Assessments and Editorial Stance
Internal Perspective on Objectivity
Common Dreams articulates its commitment to objectivity through its ethics policy, which mandates employees to "maintain the highest principles of fairness, accuracy, objectivity, and responsible independent reporting."[20] The organization acknowledges that "objectivity may be impossible but fairness never is," emphasizing the presentation of accurate facts, consideration of multiple perspectives in stories, and verification of information prior to publication.[20] News content is distinctly labeled as "HEADLINES" to separate it from opinion pieces marked "OPINION," aiming to uphold transparency in distinguishing factual reporting from advocacy.[20] Internally, Common Dreams differentiates objectivity from neutrality, arguing that the latter can foster false equivalency by granting undue weight to unsubstantiated claims. In a 2012 opinion piece published on the site, contributor David Gutman asserted that "journalists should always exhibit a bias towards objectivity," defining it as dealing with facts without personal distortion, rather than neutrally balancing opposing sides regardless of evidence.[43] This perspective aligns with the organization's mission "to inform, to inspire, to ignite change for the common good," which prioritizes progressive values such as social justice and peace while rejecting corporate or governmental influences that might compromise truth-telling.[2] A 2010 article further critiques traditional "objectivity" as a creed that mutes journalistic empathy and caters to elite interests, implying Common Dreams favors an engaged approach that incorporates moral context without sacrificing factual rigor.[44] The organization positions its independence as foundational to achieving these standards, operating as a reader-funded nonprofit since 1997 with no advertising, corporate backing, or external financial ties.[2] Editorial decisions remain insulated by a "firewall" from donor influences, with the policy prohibiting conflicts of interest and limiting anonymous sources to exceptional cases requiring editorial oversight.[20] This structure, Common Dreams maintains, enables honest reporting free from commercial pressures, though its explicit alignment with progressive ideals underscores a worldview-oriented lens rather than detached impartiality.[2]External Bias Ratings and Analyses
AllSides rates Common Dreams as having a Left media bias, based on its editorial content and story selection that consistently align with progressive viewpoints.[6] Media Bias/Fact Check classifies Common Dreams as Left Biased due to story selection favoring liberal causes, emotional language in headlines, and opinion pieces from figures like Ralph Nader and Noam Chomsky, while assigning it a High factual reporting rating for proper sourcing to other news outlets and no failed fact checks in the past five years as of 2024.[5] Ad Fontes Media assigns Common Dreams a Strong Left bias score of -17.07 on a scale from -42 (extreme left) to +42 (extreme right), reflecting consistent use of loaded language and framing that promotes left-leaning political positions, alongside a reliability score of 37.41 on a 0-64 scale, categorized as "Generally Reliable/Analysis OR Other Issues" due to variability in article veracity, headline accuracy, and inclusion of opinion-heavy content.[7] Ground News aggregates bias assessments from multiple raters, including Ad Fontes, Media Bias/Fact Check, and AllSides, resulting in an overall Left classification for Common Dreams, emphasizing its focus on progressive activism and environmental issues.[45]| Rater | Bias Rating | Factual/Reliability Rating | Key Methodology Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| AllSides | Left | Not specified | Editorial review and blind bias surveys |
| Media Bias/Fact Check | Left Biased | High Factual | Story selection, sourcing, and fact-check history |
| Ad Fontes Media | Strong Left (-17.07) | Generally Reliable (37.41) | Analyst panels rating language, veracity, and headlines |
| Ground News | Left | Not specified | Aggregation of third-party bias scores |