You are part of the Media Burn family

Dear friend,

We’re writing to you from our fourth-floor office in River West, looking out over a mostly empty city on this dreary gray day.

It’s quiet except for the occasional Metra commuter train zipping by, the bells of St. John Cantius, and the clicking of computer keys. That faint tapping is the only evidence of the work we do every day at Media Burn.

This isn’t just a “job” to us. We’re part of a small family here at Media Burn. Everyone reading this letter is a part of this close family.

We don’t make a big fuss about ourselves, but we are making a major impact. This small and unassuming group of people is doing a tremendous amount of work for an astonishingly small amount of money. No one would have seen any of these 3,500 videos—ever!—if we had not saved them, digitized them, cataloged them, and continued to pay the ongoing costs of hosting and storing them.

In 2019, we had an enormously successful video project in Russia, where crackdowns on free speech have intensified and journalists face greater and greater persecution. One of the most meaningful parts of the trip was when a Russian man told us that if everyone saw our film, people would understand how politicians manipulate information to divide citizens, and the world would be a better place.

We strongly agree that video is the most powerful tool we have for holding those in power accountable and for understanding the world around us. In 2020, it will be more important than ever that video proof of our history and culture be available to all.

The only way we can succeed is with the help of the Media Burn family. Thanks for being a part of it.

Please donate today.

Best wishes,