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Free Speech TV

About Free Speech TV

Free Speech TV is an independent, 24-hour television network and multi-platform digital news source with news, stories, and perspectives you won’t find anywhere else. A non-profit, public interest network, FSTV is publically supported by its viewers and by philanthropic foundations.

Latest updated 3 year ago

Free Speech TV is a TV channel from Denver, Colorado. It was founded in 1995. Free Speech TV is a national, independent news network committed to advancing progressive social change. As the alternative to television networks owned by billionaires, governments, and corporations, our network amplifies underrepresented voices and those working on the front lines of social, economic, and environmental justice.

Mission

Free Speech TV empowers an informed and active citizenry to build a more just, equitable world.

Vision

A just, kind, and sustainable world is built by people inspired by diverse voices, surprising conversations, and fearless truth-telling.

Strategies

To empower global citizens by exposing the abuse of power in all its forms, and by highlighting efforts of resistance. To join in the struggle for social and economic justice, respect for the environment, non-violent conflict resolution, and the protection of human rights. To honor diversity and provide a platform for voices and points of view traditionally excluded from television, including those of women, people of color, indigenous people, those made poor at home and abroad, LGBT communities, people with disabilities, and youth. To promote participatory democracy, independent media, and cross-community dialog. To celebrate creativity and value artistic expression as a vital part of any healthy society.

Reaching over 40 million U.S. television households, we bring our viewers a wide spectrum of daily and weekly news programs, independent documentaries, and special events coverage.

Free Speech TV is owned and operated by Public Communicators, Inc., a 501(c)3 non-profit, tax-exempt organization. FSTV is funded primarily by its viewers with some support from philanthropic foundations. FSTV is commercial-free, but we do accept underwriting sponsorships from socially screened companies and non-profits. Free Speech TV is based in Denver, CO.

A History of Free Speech TV

Free Speech TV was launched in 1995 as part of an effort to provide a larger platform for progressive perspectives on television. Founded by John Schwartz and co-founded by Jon Stout, Free Speech TV evolved from the popular The 90’s cable and PBS show and The 90’s Channel, a network of seven full-time cable channels dedicated to independent media.

The network’s pioneering efforts in streaming media online won its accolades such as a 1998 Streamers Award and a 1999 Webby Award.

In January 2000, Free Speech TV became a full-time channel on DISH Network, bringing truly independent reporting to a national audience. Following the World Trade Center tragedy on September 11, 2001, Free Speech TV helped launch the television premier of Democracy Now!, which remains one of the network’s most popular shows.

Free Speech TV also launched GRITtv with Laura Flanders and helped bring Thom Hartmann to television, deepening the network’s daily coverage of national politics. During the Arab Spring, the network pre-empted much of its regular non-news programming to carry Al Jazeera English’s exemplary on-the-ground journalism from Tahrir Square and other hotspots.

In 2008, the network piloted its “eStudio” at the National Conference for Media Reform, where it broadcast and streamed conference plenaries, workshops, and special interviews conducted by Amy Goodman, Laura Flanders, and Jeff Cohen. Since then, Free Speech TV has taken its eStudio on the road, broadcasting exclusive live coverage from the One Nation March, the Netroots Nation Conferences, Take Back the American Dream Conferences, talks held by The Nation and The New School, and the annual conventions of the NAACP, SEIU and LOHAS.

In 2011 and 2012, Free Speech TV coverage provided a unique window into the unprecedented battles to roll back workers' rights in Wisconsin and other states, as well as the Occupy Wall Street movement. To facilitate a national dialogue, the network produced Occupy the Media, a weekly, live, call-in program that featured frontline activists, policymakers, and those bearing the brunt of economic injustice. A hallmark of Free Speech TV-produced content, this series offered a national television platform for many of our peers in progressive radio, print, and online journalism.

In 2010, the network secured a national channel on DIRECTV, launched on Roku in 2011, and full-time cable channels in Burlington, VT, and Ashland, OR in 2012.

In 2016 the network launched full-time channels in Manhattan via Fios and Spectrum and added channels on Android TV and Amazon Fire. Free Speech TV’s television footprint has grown to over 40 million homes in the United States and reaches millions of viewers via various digital platforms.

Free Speech TV Timeline

  • 1989-92 “The 90’s” PBS-syndicated show
  • 1989-1995 The 90’s Channel, 2 hours/week in 24/7 rotation on 7 leased channels
  • 1995 John Schwartz & Jon Stout launch Free Speech TV, a 4 hour/week programming service on 50 public access channels & freespeech.org video streaming
  • 1998 FSTV helps launch Indymedia movement at WTO “Battle in Seattle”
  • 1999 FCC releases DBS public interest rules
  • 2000 FSTV launches on DISH Network, first national 24/7 independent, progressive TV network
  • 2001 FSTV brings Democracy Now! to television
  • 2002 FSTV covers international anti-war protests
  • 2007 FSTV launches current affairs magazine program “Source Code”
  • 2008 FSTV launches “GRITtv” with Laura Flanders
  • 2009 FSTV and Greenpeace cover COP 15
  • 2009 FSTV brings Thom Hartmann to television
  • 2010 FSTV launches on DIRECTV
  • 2011 FSTV launches on ROKU
  • 2012 FSTV covers Occupy Wall Street with the weekly program “Occupy the Media”
  • 2013 launches Stephanie Miller & Bill Press
  • 2014 FSTV brings KPFK’s Sonali Kolhatkar to TV
  • 2016 FSTV launches on Amazon Fire & Android TV
  • 2016 “Crashing the Party” convention & election coverage
  • 2016 FSTV and MNN launch Spectrum & Verizon Fios Manhattan cable channels
  • 2017 FSTV onsite coverage of Inauguration/Women’s March
  • 2017 FSTV onsite coverage of Washington DC Climate March
  • 2017 FSTV onsite coverage of People’s Summit and Bioneers
  • 2017 FSTV launches the new website
  • 2017 Lucy Flores & Imara Jones shows in development
  • 2017 FSTV launches on Sling TV  (Projected)
  • 2018 FSTV launches on Apple TV (Projected)

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