Reprinted below is the introduction which appeared in the first thing ever printed under 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳'s masthead, its "issue 0", January 1991.
This special 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ broadsheet has been produced as a response to the Gulf War. Coverage of the war by the mass media has highlighted the need for a real alternative source of news and analysis.
Research in the United States provides statistical evidence of how news is manipulated. The FAIR Media Survey of five months' reporting of the Gulf crisis by nightly network news programs found that the three major networks devoted only from 0.7% to 1.3% of their coverage to public opposition to US policy.
We have no statistics for Australia, but there is little doubt that they would be similar.
The aim of 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ is to be the badly needed alternative to the mass media. 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ is a new, 24-page weekly paper, the first issue of which will appear in mid-February.
Sponsored by a broad range of activists in progressive causes around Australia, 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ will provide both a movement forum and the indispensable information that is unavailable in the big business media.
With correspondents resident in Moscow, Prague, Berlin, Greece, New Zealand, the US and Mexico, 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ is situated to offer unrivalled coverage of crucial international issues. Equally important, it will be a source and a voice for all in Australia and the region who are seeking to build a better world.
91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ is your paper too. It's open to — it needs — your articles, reports, photographs, drawings, cartoons, skills. You can also participate by buying a $50 share, which entitles you to vote at meetings setting the paper's editorial policy and electing its board of management.
And to be sure that you don't miss an issue, subscribe to 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ now. As a special introductory offer, there is a 20 per cent discount on subscriptions between now and the end of February.