Salem-News.com Launches Fundraiser

Please take a moment to learn why helping us is a worthwhile idea.

Tim and Bonnie King of Salem-News.com

(SALEM, Ore.) - It became clear over time that we have a real ability to help people, further otherwise ignored causes, and to get the word out about important developments in the nation, and throughout the world. There are people who tell us our stories totally changed their lives. They are Veterans, Domestic Abuse survivors, victims of injustice, sick people.

There are now 55 writers on our team. But we are not sustaining, in fact we are seriously living a meager existence, and we want to hopefully solidify at least our immediate position.

This means rent, food, basic needs, and the extra costs we have of paying the server bill, etc. We are in Salem, Oregon and living as economically as possible, but we see the edge of the cliff and want to be able to raise enough to cover our most pressing costs. All we do seven days a week day and night is run this site. Our email fills a page in less than an hour during weekdays.

Bonnie King and I run the day to day operations of Salem-News.com. Salem incidentally means peace.

We have developed a reputation for hard hitting stories that approach the world's most difficult subjects, like Israel and Palestine, Sudan, the Mexican drug cartels, and the redevelopment and continued use of toxic military bases that kill.

We don't look at any of these situations through a filtered lens.

I'm sure it isn't hard to notice that we aren't exactly overrun with advertising at Salem-News.com. There is a good deal of advertising we will not accept, and we also refuse invasive programs like pop ups, and we always have. Many that you do see, are Google ads and we make two to three hundred dollars a month from that; with almost 20,000 unique visitors a day.

When Bonnie and I met in 1981 at the age of 18, I was a Marine stationed at the El Toro Marine air base in Southern California. We didn't know then that we would evolve as a couple to the point that we would eventually run something with the power and potential of Salem-News.com.

Even farther from our minds, was the idea that we would band together with other former El Toro Marines and ultimately expose a dirty plan in Irvine, to build a park and houses on the toxic base we once called home, responsible for hurting, and sadly killing, so many Marines over the years, as we now know. A Google search of the subject will pull up Salem-News.com articles from a three year period that lay the story out very well, and spelled the beginning of the end of the ignorance in Orange County regarding this place that is horribly, dangerously contaminated, and also responsible for pollution off base, in Irvine, and right into the ocean via an outlet tube off Aliso Beach in South Laguna.

We go after stories like El Toro in long-term series form, and others are more unique. But it doesn't matter what we cover, our ranking drives whatever it is to the top more often than not.

To give you an idea of what we do in terms of ranking, these are great examples.

• Our writer Roger Butow in Laguna Beach has written twice about the mayor of Irvine, one of America's richest cities, because he is the point man in the attempt to turn toxic El Toro into a subdivision and park, Our article comes up before almost everything else when searching his name: Larry Agran
• El Toro Marine Base is another great example, and there are many ways to search our material, dozens of articles on both this base and Camp Lejeune. On El Toro itself, this simple term shows a great deal of our data on Google's front page: El Toro Marine Base
• We have a strong showing with regard to the story of Sean Flynn, which we have been covering for years. He is the son of Errol Flynn. Along with fellow photojournalist Dana Stone, Sean went missing in Cambodia in 1970: Sean Flynn
• Townspeople in al Dujayl, Iraq tried unsuccessfully to assassinate Saddam Hussein in 1984. I was there in 2008 after a suicide bomber killed dozens at a market. The point is, we cover it even just once, and our story stays on the first page search of Google forever: al Dujayl, Iraq
• I covered operations in the Pesh Valley of Afghanistan in 2007, where a significant number of Americans have been, and continue to be stationed, near the Pakistan border. Salem-News.com is on the first page of a Google search for: Pesh Valley Afghanistan

Either click the searches above or highlight the words and toss them in Google.

I want people reading this to understand that we can really keep going, exposing problems and supporting those who need us, we just need to keep our own scene above water. Perhaps being poor drives us harder, I just think that if people saw what is taking place on a daily basis, how the numbers and reach keep growing, but we are eternally worried about how the next bill will be paid - and put that together with what we are accomplishing; that they would be inclined to help, and anything helps.

We entered the television industry in our early 20's, and we each diversified to also work in radio and newspaper. We spent three years on a PBS documentary in the early 90's that told the story of a B-17 bomber's sole survivor who through great odds, made it through a fiery crash at coastal Cape Lookout in 1943.

Then, as now, we had to sacrifice more traditional uses of time, to meet deadlines, write copy, etc. This continues today in ways never imagined. I personally spend seven days a week with Salem-News.com and I have reached a point where I am never caught up.

Managing the contributions of 55 writers is an amazing task, though I want twice that many if it helps us reach our goals. Please understand that each single writer is a person who we came to know through some unique channel. Some approached us, others we sought. Our goal and it looks like we will be there soon, is to have contributors on every continent and in each particular area we cover.

Another goal is to increase the education factor, with a hope some day of having a facility to both produce news and teach students. There would be a special emphasis on working with Veterans, and people dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

I suspect that if people who read our work and believe in our mission know that we need help, they, you... will help. We have needs of many types and it seems that communicating them is stage one. We do not have big expenses, this should be something we can maintain. There is a great deal on the line, you could say. We dodge the legal bullets and keep our heads above water but the pace and growth will at some point require relief.

Our writers someday should be compensated, our team is making a difference, but could make a bigger, more profound difference. It all comes down to the concept of the privately owned news online news group in the 21st Century. We have amazing capability and we work very hard to constantly educate this world by publishing news from amazing, highly accomplished writers.

We have controlled the evolution of Salem-News.com, and in many ways it seems to have its own say in the matter. I have massive respect for the writers who help this be what it is, along with our Web Designer Matt Lintz. Bonnie and I are not making a profit in money, but we know we have something that generates profit for the well being of human beings, and the earth itself, and sometimes all of the money in the world can't have the effect of a published article in terms of resolving a situation.

It is hard to sell ads when you fight constantly for the underdog, giving credence to those who never had a voice in mainstream news; like bikers, medical marijuana users, families who lost someone to the ridiculous antics of the big pharma industry, PTSD sufferers, Muslim Americans, Jewish peace activists in Israel, survivors of domestic violence, fallen American servicemen and women. The list goes on and on and we are open to everyone.

Our 'agenda' is humanity.

I have changed completely as a result of running this group, and the education it consistently delivers. Our base operation is in the U.S. but we are very much an international entity, with excellent world ranking, ranging between 60k and 64k worlwide via alexa.com, and a 5/10 position on Google.

We started Salem-News.com just over six years ago. Please help us continue by sharing what you can. We are not in this 'for the money' and I mean that, but our increasing audience brings increasing demands. We are distraught and distracted by this financial environment and again, we ask you to please help if you can.

One unusual problem is that we will be without a vehicle in a few days. A wonderful person who has been extremely supportive has allowed us to use his vehicle, but we knew that it would eventually need to go back. So, anyone in the vicinity of Oregon who has a running legal car they can part with, we could sure use it.

Thanks everyone for reading this, and for helping however you can. We don't seek aid from those who are also struggling, but any individual or agency that sees us as worthy, your assistance is greatly appreciated. I know this is extremely unique and for the record, things for us were very different when we first began what is now Salem-News.com.

I was with the Portland ABC Station KATU and Bonnie was with the Statesman Journal daily newspaper in Salem. We left all of that behind and we did it to make a go of Salem-News.com. We dreamed of having a site where people found answers, where our work would unlock dilemmas and expose fraud, unsavory political practices and really, simply help bring peace to this world. I can tell you that all of the important government agencies like the State Department and the Senate Armed Services Committee, look at us every day.

Advertisers, to see the Salem-News.com Media kit, Please visit this link

Of course we offer advertising, but we sure appreciate those who can just help. If you know any company that would support our mission, we can create a program for any budget.

It is not fun to stick your neck out like this and tell the world that financial times are tough, but the two of us who are eternally publishing news here, really need your help, we simply want to maintain, thank you.

If you aren't looking for advertising, but understand the importance of this news group, you can send a check or make a PayPal donation, just click on this link and it will open a Salem-News.com page that tells you more about it: Yes I care about keeping Salem-News.com alive

There is a PayPal link, email address for any questions, and also our mailing address for those who want to send a check. Again, a vehicle also would be extremely helpful, if anyone in our area can spare one. Again, please tell others about what is going on. We were recently attacked for stories we publish that are critical of Israeli military policy. People and groups want to stop us, it was be an utter travesty, thank you again for your support.

(Comments that are derogatory about our mission and position will not be approved)

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Tim King is a former U.S. Marine with twenty years of experience on the west coast as a television news producer, photojournalist, reporter and assignment editor. In addition to his role as a war correspondent, this Los Angeles native serves as Salem-News.com's Executive News Editor. Tim spent the winter of 2006/07 covering the war in Afghanistan, and he was in Iraq over the summer of 2008, reporting from the war while embedded with both the U.S. Army and the Marines.

Tim holds numerous awards for reporting, photography, writing and editing, including the Oregon AP Award for Spot News Photographer of the Year (2004), first place Electronic Media Award in Spot News, Las Vegas, (1998), Oregon AP Cooperation Award (1991); and several others including the 2005 Red Cross Good Neighborhood Award for reporting. Serving the community in very real terms, Salem-News.com is the nation's only truly independent high traffic news Website. You can send Tim an email at this address: newsroom@salem-news.com