SOLIDARITY JOURNALISM – WE HAVE NO OTHER OPTION

Binu Mathew. Editor, countercurrents.org

Yes, we are Davids facing Goliath with just a stone in our hands. At first glance, we are destined to fail. But if we act collectively, we can win.

By Binu Mathew

Let me begin with two rhetorical questions: Why do we do journalism? What really is media?

I will answer the second question first.

Media, as we know, works within the capitalist paradigm. Barring a few early years of its inception, it has always worked for profit. In the Indian context, during the independence struggle, media stood for a cause rather than profit. But, especially since the neo-liberal period, it works only for profit.

Its sole aim is to protect and sustain the system that enables profit.

Look at some of the big, corporate media in America, or here in India— and in Kerala, for instance. They always stand with the system, even to the extent of hiding the truth or spreading outright lies.

Think about Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya—and now Gaza.

How did they report?

Or, how do they continue to report? 

The truth is, a certain section of the mainstream media has blood on its hands. Of innocent people.  

Now, look at our own hands. Do we see blood on them?

I would say No. 

That’s the difference between mainstream media and alternative media. We work to give voice to the most disempowered people in the world. We bring out truths that the mainstream hides. Most importantly, we try to change the system.

It is a necessary evil that we have to operate within the system. Sadly, many of us have inherited its evils.

Yes, we are Davids facing Goliath with just a stone in our hands. At first glance, we are destined to fail. But if we act collectively, we can win.

And to act collectively, we must cultivate and spread solidarity—among ourselves and among the larger public.

Let me explain from my own experience.

August 27, 2025. A lead story picture in countercurrents.org

Countercurrents is not just an Indian website. At least 70 per cent of the content we publish has an international dimension, and our readership is global. When I started in 2002, my model was ZNet, edited by Michael Albert, where Noam Chomsky and other intellectual giants of the world regularly wrote. Today, Michael Albert has stepped aside for a younger generation, though he still writes and sends me his columns for re-publication.

So does Tom Engelhardt from New York—literary editor, founder of TomDispatch, and editor of one of the most influential books of the late 20th century, King Leopold’s Ghost by Adam Hochschild, which exposed the Belgian king’s Holocaust in Congo. Tom regularly sends me his writings, though, I, sometimes, decline to publish them because our worldview differs—something he takes with mild, charming annoyance.

Most alternative media in the US—Common Dreams, ZNetwork, CounterPunch, TruthOut—allow, even encourage, republication of their work.

Here too, Keraleeyam and Countercurrents often share content, despite the language barrier.

And what is the situation in India?

Here, we hold on to our content like a monkey clutching its banana.

It is self-defeating.

This brings me back to the first question: Why do we do journalism?

My answer: To change the system.

And if we want to change the system, we must act collectively. I suggest that alternative media outlets share content—freely, with attribution—among themselves. This will amplify our voices.

We must discard the lessons inherited from the capitalist media and instead build solidarity media. If we act collectively, we can bring down Goliaths.

Otherwise, we will be crushed individually by the system.

Now comes the most urgent question: How do we practice and sustain solidarity journalism in a capitalist world?

My answer: By building a solidarity economy.

I do not believe in chasing advertisements or foundation grants. Countercurrents has never done that. We sustain ourselves through the wholehearted support of our readers. If we collectively expand our base, we can build a solidarity economy.

Let me conclude.

We must act collectively. Solidarity journalism and solidarity economy are the need of the hour. They are the only solution for our deeply troubled mediascape—in a world falling apart faster than any of us can imagine.

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Binu Mathew is Editor of countercurrents.org, with thousands of readers in India and abroad. He is based in Kochi, Kerala.

Speech given at the webinar on the 5^th Anniversary of Keraleeyam, Webportal. Keraleeyam is independent Malayalam media based in Thrissur, Kerala.