Treasurer Grice Reports: "We Did It!"

"We did it! Today we broke the $10,000 mark, thus enabling the second installment of the matching grant from the Tides Fund for Drug Policy Reform. I must admit, I myself had some serious doubts if we could pull this off. But the readers and Co-publishers of Narco News pulled together and chipped in to make it happen. Thank you everyone. You've proven that authentic journalism has a viable future, that it can't be silenced.

"I'd especially like to thank Tim Meehan, Colleen Glynn, Laura Del Castillo, Trevor Top, Nate Johnson and Ben Melançon, whose contributions of time and talent were critical in helping us rise to the task on time… and of course, everyone who gave so generously.

Andrew Grice, Treasurer
The Fund for Authentic Journalism
P.O. Box 71051
Madison Heights, MI  48071
http://www.authenticjournalism.org

A Response from the Narco News Team to The Fund and our readers... Dear Andrew and Everyone Who Helped the Fund,

Thank you for making the impossible possible.

You've made it clear: Narco News and the School of Authentic Journalism are back for real.

This second portion of the fund drive began just 42 days ago, on Thursday, February 5th. In only six weeks, Narco News readers and Civil Society, through The Fund for Authentic Journalism, raised more than the $10,000 needed for this second matching grant, providing for a healthy headstart on the third and final matching grant. The exact amount raised, comfortably surpassing the goal, will be announced tomorrow, on Friday. In the meantime, Andrew, and everybody else, get a good night's rest. I know you've been working around the clock complying with this historic task, marking a true turning point for our project in Authentic Journalism.

In my memory, it is unprecedented that any project in journalism, or any project reporting on the drug war, or democracy, from our América, has ever seen such a generous outpouring of support from readers, with such a short deadline, like we have just witnessed here.

Complying with our duty to you as the journalists in this project, I therefore, on behalf of the entire news team, and the faculty of the J-School, make the following announcements.

Primero: The Narco News School of Authentic Journalism will hold its 2004 session from July 30th to August 8th of this year.

Segundo: The location, during those ten days, will be in Cochabamba and the coca-growing Chapare region of Bolivia.

Tercero: Based on the funds already raised by The Fund for Authentic Journalism, together with the matching grant, the School of Authentic Journalism will be able to offer a minimum of 30 full or partial scholarships to this year's ten-day program. That number may well increase (our campus has the capacity for more, and our confirmed faculty is larger than ever), depending on the level of continued public support for The Fund for Authentic Journalism.

Cuarto: The July 30th to August 8th session is open only to announced scholarship recipients, professors, and staff, and only by expressed, written invitation, signed by me. I hereby appoint Narco News South American Bureau Chief Alex Contreras Baspineiro and former Narco News Andean Bureau Chief Luis Gómez to the admissions committee to help me to make those decisions. The Cochabamba and Chapare sessions will be closed to uninvited members of the press, or to anyone else who might just "show up" hoping to get in. I repeat: attendance at the program is by invitation only. Do not make reservations unless and until you've been expressly invited. Everybody is eligible to apply the same way as everybody else, no exceptions. There will be no shortage of fine Internet, print, TV and radio journalists present already to report, blog, and broadcast, this year's J-School session to the world in various languages, to ensure that all Narco News readers will be able to follow this historic event, "virtually" from home or work, via the Internet, including through the online blogging by our scholars and professors.

Quinto: Applications will very shortly be sent to anyone who requests them, by sending an email to solicitud@narconews.com. Completed applications will be due by May 1, 2004. Recipients will be announced in mid-May, at a special Fund for Authentic Journalism gala event, in Los Angeles, California, details to be announced soon.

Sexto: The roster of Professors, confirmed and invited, will be announced in the coming days. So far, more than 30 invited faculty members have confirmed, others have been invited and we are awaiting confirmation, the possible roles of others are still being negotiated, and the program is still being reviewed to determine what other themes and expertise will be required to offer the most comprehensive ten-day intensive course and workshop in Authentic Journalism - online, print, radio, video, and documentary filmmaking - ever.

Since there are still about two hours to go until midnight, Pacific Time Zone, please feel free to pad The Fund's head start on the third and final matching grant and increase the impressive exact numbers that The Fund will be announcing tomorrow.

In sum: The unprecedented outpouring by so many readers, mostly through small contributions that will now be doubled, has given a huge shot in the arm to the entire Narco Newsroom, boosted our morale, and reminded us, once again, that we journalists are not alone in this project.

So, those are our basic announcements and responses (we'll fill in more details shortly) from the Narco News Team to the heroic job done by Andrew Grice and so many others to meet a goal, in such a short period time, that many doubted could be met.

There is no more room for doubt. You've given us a job to do, with the resources to do it, and obedience leads. Thank you.

From somewhere in a country called América,

Al Giordano
Publisher, Narco News
President, The School of Authentic Journalism
http://www.narconews.com