Dear Reader,

I'm often asked how to help The Tyee keep producing fresh, independent journalism, free of charge.

Here's the best way. Help us reach new readers.

We prove our worth by the size and loyalty of our readership. As long as our audience is solid, so will be our journalistic content -- and our bottom line. But we have very little money for ads or publicity.

So we've made it easy, and even amusing, for you to help out in the next days.

We've created a video we think you'll get a kick out of, and want to pass on to friends.

Our new drive

It's at the heart of our new campaign to alert people to the threat of Big Media monopoly and the power of independent media. You'll find lots of material on the bad and the good at the new web site we've created.

The campaign also aims to encourage thousands more people to subscribe to our free "home delivery" headlines. Every Monday morning subscribers get a week's worth of Tyee stories in their e-mail inbox.

And now we've jazzed up that "home delivery" with exclusive features including a reader's poll, the most e-mailed story, and the best reader comment of the week, as well as scuttlebutt about what's going on at The Tyee.

Again, it's free to receive our e-mailed headlines. We don't share e-mail addresses with anybody. It's simple to unsubscribe. And the more people who subscribe to our headlines, the brighter the future of Tyee reporting.

Plus, everyone who signs up is eligible to win a great prize, as you'll see when you get there.

Let's go viral

So please have a look at our video. Help it go viral by forwarding it to as many friends as possible. Encourage those friends to sample The Tyee by getting our free weekly headlines.

Sign up yourself if you haven't yet.

And along the way get mad -- and laugh -- at the state of corporate media concentration in Canada today.

Before I close, I just wanted to add we've had a lot of fun working with the talented folks at birocreative.com to create this video. At one point, as we scratched our heads over what tone to strike with the cartooning, someone suggested "self-knowingly cheesy." Now there's a level of consciousness to shoot for in life! See if you think we got there.

Many thanks to Mobile Muse and " target="_blank">Phillip Smith for their help and support.

And, of course, many thanks to all of you,

David Beers
Founding Editor

What you can win (and thanks to all who donated great prizes!)

• One pair of carbon-neutral return flights in Canada: W.E. TRAVEL
• A one-year credit to offset your car's emissions: COOLDRIVEPASS
• 10 pairs of recycled car tire and organic cotton flip flops: SIMPLE SHOES
• A naturally-dyed cotton towel set: TENFOLD ORGANIC TEXTILES
• A gift basket of organic, wild crafted foods: NAVITAS NATURALS
• Two $50 music gift certificates: RED CAT RECORDS
• Five stylish organic cotton t-shirts: TWICE SHY
• 10 one-year subscriptions: GEIST MAGAZINE