Reader Supported News is a new service by the creator of Truthout, Marc Ash. I started Truthout in downtown Los Angeles in the summer of 2000, as the Democratic convention unfolded a few blocks away. I did so without realizing that I would fail, and as a result, I succeeded. Truthout built its following among readers who wanted to better understand the most important stories of the day, but had grown tired of the hype and sales-pitching of the big corporate outlets.

Reader Supported News (RSN) will carry forward the core concept that the reader is best served by financial control of the news service they depend on. No outside investment capital was used in the startup of RSN. No advertising money will be accepted by RSN. No grants will be sought by RSN. We like having the reader as our boss.

The service is free to all - even if you cannot contribute, we are honored to have you join us as a reader. RSN will not be a non-profit.

Non-profits are great and do wonderful work, but a board of directors ultimately rules the roost and that can lead to anything. Contributions made to RSN are not tax-deductible. This is a new experiment: can an organization serve the community and still pay its taxes? The answer should be yes.

Writing for Godot

Writing for Godot is the sister site of Reader Supported News. Writing for Godot is a forum where our readers can post their own essays. The concept for Writing for Godot is drawn from Irish playwright Samuel Beckett's 1952 masterpiece "Waiting for Godot."

Beckett's story centers around two men, Estragon and Vladimir. They wait beneath a tree each day for Godot. At the end of each day, a child with innocent eyes arrives and tells them that Godot will not come today, but that Godot will come tomorrow. "Are you sure he will come tomorrow?" ask Estragon and Vladimir. "Yes," replies the boy, but Godot never comes. Others however, do come, and the play unfolds.

Critics have noted that Estragon and Vladimir represent humanity and that Godot represents God. Some say, and Beckett did, that man waits for God but God never comes. Interestingly, as Estragon and Vladimir wait without result for Godot to arrive, they contemplate suicide. Not surprising in that the horrors of World War II, a suicide attempt by all mankind, had only receded seven years earlier.

God represents many things to many people. However, in a universal sense, divinity might be equated with social justice and order, tolerance and compassion. Such are the things God represents to man. I have spent the past nine years of my life writing for social justice and order, tolerance and compassion - "Writing for Godot." I've come to understand that Godot will not come today. Perhaps he will come tomorrow.

Marc Ash, Founder, Writer
Reader Supported News, Writing for Godot