Staying true to her principles means Bernd could never work for a mainstream news organization like The Washington Post or The New York Times. She will never forget how these news outlets conducted themselves in the aftermath of 9/11, an event that happened when Bernd was an 11-year-old elementary school student.
"It was that context and the lies about WMDs in Iraq and everything that's coming out now about torture. It was that context that animated me to want to become a journalist in the first place," she recalled. "That's why I can never respect the mainstream media and why I would never ever be interested in working for a mainstream outlet, even if it meant a raise. I've seen them fail. Their failures in a lot of ways created the context under which I grew up. We have to correct that."
Bernd's views of what a real news outlet should be are what attracted her to Truthout. "When I first got brought on at Truthout, it struck me how perfect of it fit it was for me and my experiences," she said. "If you look at the Truthout's mission statement, it says we want to inspire the direct action that is necessary to save the planet and humanity."
As Bernd proudly pointed out, no other news organization has the term "direct action" in its mission statement.
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