Common Dreams NewsCenter, often referred to simply as Common Dreams, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, U.S.-based news website with a stated goal of serving the
progressive community. Common Dreams publishes news stories, editorials, and a newswire of current, breaking news. Common Dreams also re-publishes relevant content from other sources such as the
Associated Press and has published writers such as
Robert Reich and
Molly Ivins. The website also provides links to other relevant columnists, periodicals, radio outlets, news services, and websites.
History
Inspiration for the name, "Common Dreams", came from the book title, ''The Twilight of Common Dreams: Why America is Wracked by Culture Wars'', written by
Todd Gitlin and published in 1995.
The nonprofit organization, Common Dreams, was founded in 1996 by political consultant, Craig Brown, and the News Center was launched the following year, in May 1997, by Brown and his wife, Lina Newhouser (1951–2008). Brown, a native of Massachusetts, has a long history in progressive politics. He was the director of the Maine Public Interest Research Group from 1973 to 1977 and worked on the presidential campaigns of former U.S. Senator
Alan Cranston
Alan MacGregor Cranston (June 19, 1914 – December 31, 2000) was an American politician and journalist who served as a United States Senator from California from 1969 to 1993, and as a President of the World Federalist Association from 1949 to 1 ...
and U.S. Senator
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...
. Brown also served from 1990 to 1994 as chief of staff for
Tom Andrews.
Part of Brown's job was to compile news for Representative Andrews, which gave Brown the impetus to do the same on the internet.
During the
Kosovo War Common Dreams hosted the "Drumbeats of War" site which, according to the BBC, presented "a round-up of interesting articles with wide-ranging points of view that have previously appeared in newspapers and journals across the United States."
Common Dreams is also known for its strong anti-war stance.
Common Dreams is funded through subscriptions and donations from its readers and does not have advertising.
Features
Common Dreams has featured original articles by the following authors:
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Eric Alterman
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Noam Chomsky
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Alexander Cockburn
Alexander Claud Cockburn ( ; 6 June 1941 – 21 July 2012) was a Scottish-born Irish-American political journalist and writer. Cockburn was brought up by British parents in Ireland, but lived and worked in the United States from 1972. Together ...
*
Jeff Cohen
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Juan Cole
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Joe Conason
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David Corn
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Linh Dinh
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Robert Fisk
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Amy Goodman
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Tom Hayden
Thomas Emmet Hayden (December 11, 1939October 23, 2016) was an American social and political activist, author, and politician. Hayden was best known for his role as an anti-war, civil rights, and intellectual activist in the 1960s, authoring th ...
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Bob Herbert
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Jim Hightower
James Allen Hightower (born January 11, 1943) is an American syndicated columnist, Progressivism in the United States, progressive political activist, and author. From 1983 to 1991 he served as the elected commissioner of the Texas Department of ...
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Arianna Huffington
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Molly Ivins
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Jesse Jackson
Jesse Louis Jackson (né Burns; born October 8, 1941) is an American political activist, Baptist minister, and politician. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as a shadow U.S. senator ...
*
Kathy Kelly
Kathy Kelly (born 1952) is an American peace activist, pacifist and author, one of the founding members of ''Voices in the Wilderness'', and, until the campaign closed in 2020, a co-coordinator of ''Voices for Creative Nonviolence''. As part of p ...
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Naomi Klein
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Paul Krugman
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Michael Lerner Michael or Mike Lerner may refer to:
* Michael Lerner (actor) (1941–2023), American actor
*Michael Lerner (angler) (1890–1978), American angler and businessman
* Michael Lerner (rabbi) (born 1943), social activist
*Michael Benjamin Lerner (born ...
*
Michael Moore
Michael Francis Moore (born April 23, 1954) is an American filmmaker, author and left-wing activist. His works frequently address the topics of globalization and capitalism.
Moore won the 2002 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for ' ...
*
Ralph Nader
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Laura Packard
Laura Packard (born May 23, 1976) is an American health care activist and political commentator. She is the founder of Health Care Voices, a non-profit grassroots organization for adults with serious medical conditions. She is executive directo ...
*
Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that spanne ...
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Ted Rall
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Frank Rich
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Robert Reich
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Arundhati Roy
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Bernie Sanders
Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...
*
Robert Scheer
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Cindy Sheehan
Cindy Lee Sheehan ( Miller; born July 10, 1957) is an American anti-war activist,Geraghty, Jim (2011-05-02)Cindy Sheehan: ‘If you believe the newest death of OBL, you’re stupid.’''National Review''. Retrieved May 2, 2011. whose son, U.S. Arm ...
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Katrina vanden Heuvel
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Howard Zinn
See also
*
List of anti-war organizations
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Common Dreams Newscenter
Mass media in Maine
Progressivism in the United States
American political blogs
American political websites
American news websites
501(c)(3) organizations