Become a "Friend of Free Speech TV in Burlington" today!

Hey Burlingtonians: Have you heard the news? Free Speech TV is coming to your town!

Thanks to the work of many in your community, Free Speech TV is bringing its 24/7 independent news, analysis and documentaries to Burlington Telecom. Starting March 1st, you'll be able to tune in to FSTV on BT's newest channel (122) on its "basic tier."

But first, we need to rally to finish the task of making Burlington the first city in the country to offer a fulltime FSTV channel on cable.  FSTV has until the end of February to raise a one-time $10,000 to cover its start-up costs.

Here's some more good news: We've raised half the money already!

A group of your neighbors founded the "Friends of Free Speech TV in Burlington," and they've already pledged $5,000 as a Founding Friends Challenge Fund. That means that for every dollar you donate, they'll kick in another dollar to match you. If we can raise just $5,000 by the end of February, FSTV will receive the full $10,000 it needs to launch its new channel in your community.

Why do we think you'll want to support this campaign?

That's easy. Free Speech TV is a great fit for our community. FSTV covers the issues the other networks won't, offering diverse viewpoints and truly independent journalism. FSTV airs daily news from Democracy Now! and The Thom Hartmann Program, including the live weekly "Brunch with Bernie" (Sanders) call-in segment. It airs current affairs programs like Gay USA and environmental talks from the Bioneers conferences.

FSTV is a great outlet for amazing--but hard to find--independently produced documentaries, like The Billionaires Tea Party (about the Koch Brothers),  The World According to Monsanto (GMOs and food safety), Waging A Living (low-wage workers), Beating the Odds (public education), and Wetback: The Undocumented Documentary (immigration). In addition, FSTV airs live coverage of events like the Wisconsin labor battles, the Occupy Wall Street protests, and the 2012 elections. Watch this short network trailer for highlights.

To top it off, FSTV is commercial-free and non-profit. Your donation is tax-deducible.

Given your support of media that matters, we hope you'll join us today. Your support of FSTV will provide vital alternative programming to Burlington's local cable dial.

So how can you make a difference?

The Founding Friends are asking everyone to go to our Kickstarter web page to make an online pledge of any amount and to select a "thank you" gift. FSTV will only receive these donations if enough people pledge to meet our $5,000 goal. We can do it if everyone chips in at a level that works for his/her budget! [If you prefer, you can mail a donation to Free Speech TV, PO Box 44099, Denver, CO 80201.]

You can also help by spreading the word. Send a shout out on Front Porch Forum. Email or talk  to your family, friends, neighbors and colleagues. Please share the news: every dollar helps!

Thank you for standing up for independent media and diverse voices!

From the "Founding Friends of Free Speech TV in Burlington"

Individuals

Scott Campitelli

Lauren-Glenn Davitian, Center for Media & Democracy

Linda Deliduka

John Douglas

Deb Ellis, University of Vermont

Greg EplerWood, MediaVox

Drew Frazier

David Goodman

Greg Guma

Alexandra Halkin, Americas Media Initiative

Dan Higgins, The Photo Lounge

David Jenemann

Bobbie Lanahan

Robin Lloyd, TowardFreedom.com

Sam Mayfield, Lower Thirds Productions

Seth Mobley

Andrea Rogers

Donald Schramm

Jan Schultz

Bill Simmon

Shay Totten, Chelsea Green

Institutions

CCTV-Center for Media & Democracy

Chelsea Green

FrontPorchForum.com

Main Street Landing

RETN-Regional Educational Technology Network

VCAM-Vermont Community Access Media

Vermont International Film Festival

Thanks to VCAM-Vermont Community Access Media and our featured Founding Friends for the video above!