By Curro Jimenez
Some of you know that my day job is in a big media corporation. I know how expensive content production is. It is very expensive. And despite all that money, most of what we produce doesn’t match the quality of what we create here at Naked Capitalism. You probably know that already. That’s why you read us, and that’s why we ask for your financial support to continue providing what big corporations can’t do.
But let’s delve a bit into why they can’t do it.
It’s not about resources. Big media has massive budgets — far bigger than ours or any independent outlet. It’s not about talent either; with that money, they can hire skilled writers and producers. And it’s not about access to information. They subscribe to every wire service and outlet, 24/7.
The simple reason is that producing that much content on so many topics is incredibly costly, and someone has to pay. In today’s media landscape, almost no outlet survives without funding. That usually means big corporate owners — or small donors like you. (Hint: how about a visit to the donation page to keep this enterprise fit and feisty?)
Here, at Naked Capitalism, we rely on our community to continue doing what big media cannot do: bring you commentary and analysis without propaganda. We won’t always be first. Sometimes we’ll be wrong. You won’t always agree. But my commitment, and I believe that of all the writers, first and foremost Yves, is to always give you our best unfiltered truth.
That is exactly what corporate media cannot do. I don’t lie to myself, at my day job I do propaganda. I’m fortunate that I more or less agree with the editorial line in my area, but I also know what we do here could never happen there. That’s why I came to Naked Capitalism.
I’m the youngest writer here — possibly in age, surely as a member of this community. Asking for your support to continue doing what we do is a little embarrassing. So let me tell you how I started writing for this site.
It’s not a glamorous story, but it says a lot. I had been following Naked Capitalism for some time because, as you know, it is one of the few one-stop websites of this kind and because it always helped me find an analysis that was different, that helped me understand what was going on better, in more depth or from a different angle.
So, being in the line of work that I’m in, when I saw Yves posting that they were looking for writers, I answered. After some back and forth with her, we agreed to start collaborating. What she did not know when I first wrote to her is that I was willing to collaborate for free. But, of course, I know how this field works and when you have free collaborators, more often than not, you do not have reliable collaborators.
It is understandable. Writing, especially good writing, of the kind that we try to do here, requires time, knowledge, and research. When she told me that there was a fee for the article, I hesitated. If you get paid, you have a deal, and I do my best to keep my word. If you get paid, you have to show up, you have a deadline, and you have to deliver. But after some thought I agreed not because I would get paid (I like cigars, so it helps me have one or two, but it does not pay my rent); I agreed because it was an opportunity to say what I cannot say at my job.
Since then, I’ve tried to approach my work here from two angles. First, by uncovering the ideas and theories that shape current events. I firmly believe that every action is born from a thought, even an unconscious one. And every thought is framed within a worldview composed of theories and ideas. Understanding that may help us see where we are and where we’re heading.
Second, I try to look at events from perspectives outside the mainstream. Not for the sake of it, but because I know that most of the mainstream is propaganda and I try to understand what happened beyond that. Sometimes, my very eclectic background also makes me differ from independent media or analysis.
I can’t do that in many other places than here. So if you believe that continuing to do it matters because it helps you better understand current events, as it does for me, and better understand the world in which we live, then I do ask you to help us with a financial contribution.
Because you, our dear commentariat, have been one of the most wonderful things about writing for Naked Capitalism. I used to read the website before, but generally I didn’t pay much attention to the comments. On most sites, it wasn’t worth it. But once I started publishing, I read the discussions — not just on my pieces, but on others too. I quickly realised that many of you could be writing the main article yourselves, and often better.
Your comments are more than feedback. They expand on the story, point out what we’ve missed, and open new angles. They’re not just arguments — they’re informed, intelligent debates. For a writer, that’s gold. It sharpens you, makes you more accurate, and keeps you grounded. In today’s online world of trolls, this community is a rare gem.
Writing for you is both a challenge and a joy. Asking for your help is humbling. But I promise — those cigars do make me think and write better. So please go to the Tip Jar and dig deep to help us both out.
