Launch: The Freedom Report

[Feelgood]

http://www.freedomreport.com

Yes the format looks familiar, but it is simple and it works. Youll find links updated daily of news items of interests, in regards to our economy, freedoms and liberties, and anything pertinent or important to our cause.

Note, Im trying NOT to have this look like a "Ron Paul" site, per se', but alot of what he does will be posted there. You will not find things like Michael Jackson or other crap that really isnt news worthy.

I hope you all like the site and get something out of it. ATM I'm still working on getting the mail in tips thng to function properly. Also, if any of you are any good with photoshop, I could really use some help with the logo. Please PM me if you can help.

If you guys know of any good links that I should include, please let me know. FYI there is not a link for Schiff or Rand Paul ATM, only because they have not committed to running. Once they do, I will add a link to their campaign website.

Let me know what you guys think. :cool:

http://www.freedomreport.com

[Cowlesy]

Awesome FeelGood --- very much like the site. Hope you try and keep it current.

[Feelgood]

That is my intention. Google news alerts rock for this... :)

[tpreitzel]

Great! It's nice to see the Drudge Report done right! ;)

[tpreitzel]

I love all those zeros in the counter. Maybe, the Freedom Report can match Drudge's popularity. :)

Seriously, the concept is good, but you have your work cut out for you in keeping the website updated. If it succeeds, you can make it a career like Matt... ;)

[Feelgood]

I do plan to keep it updated. I used to get to frustrated with Matt, because he would NEVER put up any links I sent him, especially those about Ron Paul during the campaign. Then about a week ago, it dawned on me, why not just do it myself?! DUH! So I did. And now we have the same style site, that is quite popular it seems, just geared more towards things freedom lovers. Glad you liked it. :)

Still looking for links to add, if anyone has anything oriented towards the theme of the site.

[Young Paleocon]

Mises.org, antiwar.com, icasualties.org

[tpreitzel]

There's a ton of websites out there with usable material. Although Christian oriented, www.radioliberty.com is a good one because Stan backs up his material with good sources. As editor, you'll have to pick and choose wisely your posted information. Basically, the success of Freedom Report will depend on YOUR integrity. Can you be bought off? Do you have the talent (apparently so) and tenacity to follow through with this project? Do you have the time to source the material?
Personally, I like the format so well because it's quickly readable and time is one of the items that I lack the most. Unlike Drudge, Freedom Report seems to be both readable and informative on issues that really matter... there you go for a logo, "Freedom Report for issues that really matter" ... ;)

Good luck. I have Freedom Report bookmarked!

Some more websites with well sourced material: gunowners.org, eagleforum.org ... really, the number of websites is nearly endless. Just try to glean information from well-sourced websites and don't be afraid to shake things up a bit occasionally while maintaining the freedom orientation.

[Deborah K]

Love this! Good job!!

[Feelgood]

http://digg.com/politics/Launch_of_new_site_Freedom_Report

Threw up a Digg, if anyone wishes to Digg the article.

TIA

>>>Off to check out those links...

[Andrew-Austin]

I'll keep it on my bookmark toolbar at least for a little while.

You could maybe add fee.org as one of the links at the bottom, and mises.org.

[tpreitzel]

Since the Drudge Report is basically a recap of the important news of the day from Matt's perspective, you'll have to do the same. Again, you should do fine if you stick to the liberty oriented theme with well-sourced, current material of interest to folks engaged in restoring or preserving liberty.

One note on Drudge: I know from experience about 10+ years ago, that he has an automated system of incoming feeds from nearly everywhere imaginable. By mistake, I logged onto the Drudge Report and saw something that I shouldn't have seen. ;) The feed was gone in seconds and I've never seen anything similar again. The point: you need an automated system of feeds from sources that you respect to keep the project current and manageable as the project advances. Initially, you can likely scour the internet manually for pertinent links. Encouraging liberty-oriented websites to deliver such feeds is imperative for success, e.g. RSS.

[RonPaulVolunteer]

I see we both launched a new site on the same day... http://theiareport.com

[Feelgood]

BUMPers

[tpreitzel]

One more point:

I notice that you've been adding links in the body of the report along with older items. Although more time intensive, adding new links near the top of the report is more efficient so readers don't have to hunt for the new information among the old. In other words, move older information down the report and eventually off the page entirely. Don't embed new information among old information. As I've said, it takes time, effort, and smarts to do reporting of news right. You're getting there. Thanks.

[Feelgood]

Hmmm, thanks tpreitzel, good advice. Here I have been trying to go through and eliminate older articles throughout. Your way makes alot more sense. Good points....

[Cowlesy]

//

[Feelgood]

Bump

[Imperial]

On foreign policy, I find http://www.atimes.com an indispensable website. They also some good economic articles. It doesn't focus on US domestic policy though.

[AJ Antimony]

I really mean to be constructive here so bear with me:

That is the most unattractive web page I have ever seen. The first thing that popped into my head when the page loaded was "fuck this! i'm not going to take 30 minutes looking at every link until I see something I like!"

For Christ's sake, you HAVE to organize the links into different sections. If you need any ideas how to make the site the least bit navigable, look at Google News.

Jesus, imagine if they put all of their stories in the same black font, line by line, and on a boring white background. No, their news is organized so when I check it out I know what sections to look at and which to ignore. It makes finding news much faster and much more pleasant.

So please, give the site some sort of design so I feel like visiting the site again. Honestly, without a layout I just can't visit that site at all.

[Cowlesy]

Constructive Criticism: I visited this for about a week, but it seemed like CIT was the top headline the entire week, so doesn't seem to be updated that often.

To be fair, Matt Drudge's life is running Drudgereport. He even has it hooked up in his car so that he can update if he's sitting in the parking lot of 7/11. That, and people are always sending him stuff to post, so he doesn't have to hunt as much.

[tpreitzel]

The format is fine and the content is still being periodically updated. However, experience will improve the process so we need to be patient. The new content is near the top which is good. The content needs better grouping and organization, but it's not bad. The oldest material needs to be moved off the page entirely as the number of links on the current page needs to be halved. The number of links on the page should probably average 20-40. If new content is related to older content on the page, the older content needs to be moved to the top of the page along with the newer content and grouped together with the newer content higher on the page for that particular group. Keep it up! :)

[Feelgood]

I always take constructive criticism, but you have to understand. Unlike Drudge that posts everything that comes his way, like "the worlds tallest woman that keeps growing" and the "Sarah Palin is in trouble again" stories, the links I post are geared more towards the things we believe in. Such as HR1207, or civil liberty issues, or more government spending etc etc. Unlike Drudge, there are far fewer links to post. I have several news alerts from different sources that are emailed to me daily, sometimes several times a day. I look through them ALL, and post links that I think will be the most informative to those that think like we do. I mean I could EASILY turn the page over daily with all the hub bub thats out there, but IMO it would then just be another Drudge Report, and not really what Im hoping to accomplish.

With that said, if anyone finds a link to a story that should be on the page, please send me a link and I will be more then happy to add it. However, believe it or not, there is not a TON of stuff to post. I post what I see fit to post as I come across it. I check the links I receive in the morning when I get up, middle of the day, again in the evening, and once more from my laptop when I go to bed. So if there is anything worth putting up, I put it up right then and there.

@AJ Antimony

I will have to assume that you have never been to Drudge Report? It is the exact same format and setup. His site is just as ugly, and you know what? It is quite probably the most visited web site on the entire planet. Why should I try to re-invent the wheel? If the site hurts your eyes that much, then do not visit it. Apparently it is not for you. However, if you want a one stop shop to get the latest links I can find on stories the pertain to liberties and freedom in our country, the Freedom Report is the place to go.

Try a quick side by side comparison and see what I mean...

http://www.drudgereport.com
http://www.freedomreport.com

I have taken tpreitzel's advice, and always place the newer stories at the top of the columns, scrolling the older stories off the bottom. Stories that are new and go together, are placed together in their same perspective box. Honestly, the page I have setup, is only HALF as long as Drudge's is currently. I have the line dividers setup so that if my links go beyond that, I cut them off.

[nayjevin]

Pretty cool. Lew Rockwell blog for another source, and CFL has an RSS feed for news.

[0zzy]

I was going to come here to criticize you for creating yet another site in a freedom movement that has a billion, but this is kinda cool, so kudos!

[AJ Antimony]

@AJ Antimony

I will have to assume that you have never been to Drudge Report? It is the exact same format and setup. His site is just as ugly, and you know what? It is quite probably the most visited web site on the entire planet. Why should I try to re-invent the wheel? If the site hurts your eyes that much, then do not visit it. Apparently it is not for you. However, if you want a one stop shop to get the latest links I can find on stories the pertain to liberties and freedom in our country, the Freedom Report is the place to go.

Try a quick side by side comparison and see what I mean...

http://www.drudgereport.com
http://www.freedomreport.com



Hmm I learned something new. Thank you for clarifying! Please ignore my comments :)

[FrankRep]

I may just need to bookmark this site.

awesome job

[Feelgood]

Thanks guys, glad you like it. Just updated it moments ago with the latest stuff I could find. I was particularly horrified by the story posted about Bush in the right column. Apparently Bush had planned to test the boundaries of the Constitution, read it for yourself. Interesting stuff...

@nayjevin

Already have a link on the site for Lew Rockwell, and I will check out CFL's feeds. Thanks. :)

@Ozzy

Thanks, the billion+ other sites kept me from launching this sooner then I did. I know the "freedom movement" has been inundated with sites. However, I have not come across another Drudge Report like site, anywhere, pertaining to any topic of material, and I have looked. I'm no fan of Matt Drudge, he only lives about 50 miles from me, and I have considered more then once going down to kick his ass. :D However, you have to give him props, that site is SO damn simplistic, yet efficient, you cant help but admire him for what he has accomplished. All the stories you could want on one page. I'm just attempting to do the same thing, just geared more towards our cause. In a way, Matt Drudge is to internet news, what Rush Limbaugh is to talk radio. Like it or not, they are at the top of the heap.

Again, thanks for the positive feedback guys, I appreciate it.

[FrankRep]

Thanks guys, glad you like it.

Make sure to post some New American articles on there. It's a great source of news and information.

The New American
http://www.TheNewAmerican.com/

[Feelgood]

Make sure to post some New American articles on there. It's a great source of news and information.

The New American
http://www.TheNewAmerican.com/

Good site! I added a link. :) Thank you.

[Cowlesy]

Yep I have the site bookmarked too

[Feelgood]

Just added "The Freedom Index" to the third column. Will be a permanent link on the site. Got it from The New American site, thanks to FrankRep. It is a very cool report card of our Congressmen and how their votes are measured against the Constitution. Ties in perfect with the Freedom Report IMO. Check it out.

Very cool.

[FrankRep]

Just added "The Freedom Index" to the third column. Will be a permanent link on the site. Got it from The New American site, thanks to FrankRep. It is a very cool report card of our Congressmen and how their votes are measured against the Constitution. Ties in perfect with the Freedom Report IMO. Check it out.

Very cool.

Thank you Feelgood!

The Freedom Index
How does your Congressman score?
http://www.thenewamerican.com/files/Freedom_Index_111-1.pdf

[Feelgood]

BUMP for update.

Love the articles on the RNC. :D

[iddo]

Feelgood, maybe you should also be available on irc chat or instant messengers (besides twitter) so that others could give you interesting links.
The last thing I would want to see on freedomwatch.com is boring Hollywood stories that Drudge is obsessed with, but still if you want this site to be successful you should update it at frequency similar to that of drudgereport.com (to give one indicator, interesting stories that appear in "New Posts" on this forum are frequent enough).
I remember that I once saw Drudge on cspan and he claimed that everything that you see on his website is typed with his ten fingers, I wonder if the automated incoming feed claim is true...

[RCA]

Added it to the wiki under Alternative Media:

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=173700

[tpreitzel]

I remember that I once saw Drudge on cspan and he claimed that everything that you see on his website is typed with his ten fingers, I wonder if the automated incoming feed claim is true...

If you're referring to my post, I obviously wasn't clear enough. I meant that Matt has feeds of information coming to him so he doesn't have to manually search for information on the internet. I never meant that information from these feeds were automatically formatted and posted to his website. Personally, the latter would be a step in the right direction, but I don't think AI can replace human intelligence yet.

BTW, the Freedom Report has been looking really good lately along with great content. I can't complain at all at this point. Keep it up!

[literatim]

Bookmarked.

[Feelgood]

Feelgood, maybe you should also be available on irc chat or instant messengers (besides twitter) so that others could give you interesting links.
The last thing I would want to see on freedomwatch.com is boring Hollywood stories that Drudge is obsessed with, but still if you want this site to be successful you should update it at frequency similar to that of drudgereport.com (to give one indicator, interesting stories that appear in "New Posts" on this forum are frequent enough).
I remember that I once saw Drudge on cspan and he claimed that everything that you see on his website is typed with his ten fingers, I wonder if the automated incoming feed claim is true...

I covered this once before. I have alot of sources for news, and actually gather more daily. The thing is, the Freedom Report theme is geared more towards liberty, freedoms, the abuse thereof, etc etc. To just put up news with the frequency that Drudge does, would mean I would have to include the dribble as he does. There simply is not as much "freedom lover" based news, as there is Hollywood crapola kind of news. I mean there were stories out the whazoo with this Healthcare thing, from the Obamanation himself. That story had twists and turns that would make a soap opera writers head spin. Everytime I refreshed some of my pages, there was another new link where it was going off in another direction.

Bottom line is, I do my best to keep it as current as I can, with stories that relate to the theme of what Freedom Report is. As those kinds of stories come in, I post the link. You have to also keep in mind, that unlike Drudge, I dont sit at home in my boxers, in front of my computer, waiting for the next headline to roll in. I have a real job that I work, that usually consumes about 50-60 hours of my week. I update as often as I can, with what I can, that seems relevant to the site.

And for the record, all links are cut/pasted in with my 10 fingers. :) Its acutally quite simple. My girlfriend used to be impressed with how it looked and all, till she watched me a couple of nights and saw how easy it was. :) Type in a few HTML tags, cut/paste some links, save, upload to the server. Upload might take about .0005 seconds. :cool:

All Im hoping for Freedom Report to be, is an alternative to all the other crap that is out there. I have been disappointed by Drudge many times, for not posting links I sent him that I thought should have been on his site. I finally decided, screw him, if he wont do it, I will. And Freedom Report was born.

As for Twitter, Im not a big Twitter fan, BUT it is a "decent" resource. The main reason for using Twitter, actually, was to have one more link out there to Freedom Report. Its more of an SEO ploy then anything else. ;) Twitter gets a TON of traffic.

I wish I had the time to hang out on IRC chat, but as it is my time is stretched thin. Between work, my GF, Freedom Report, I try to get in a few rounds of online games before I go to bed. Need to frag a few peeps to relax. :)

[FrankRep]

I have been disappointed by Drudge many times, for not posting links I sent him that I thought should have been on his site. I finally decided, screw him, if he wont do it, I will. And Freedom Report was born.

Agreed. I'm trying to help promote the Freedom Report.

[tpreitzel]

Trying to sleep, but can't so ...

The biggest problem lies with the generators of liberty oriented news. Is the news readily distributable and well sourced? Has the American Free Press automated delivery of their content so it can be readily reviewed without having to manually search their website or read published editions? Certainly, some compromise could be found to maintain profitability and help the cause of liberty simultaneously. Ditto for nearly EVERYONE engaged in the liberty movement especially the Free State Project. ;)

[iddo]

I fully agree that you shouldn't compromise and include dribble like Drudge does, but even under this assumption I think that you should aim for update frequency similar to that of drudgereport, when people see the drudgereport.com format they expect frequent updates...
To take one concrete example, do you think that including this soldier youtube video would have been appropriate? http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=201777
I think that it would be reasonable to include such a video (maybe together with local news story like kdsk.com in this case), it's much less boring than some of the other stories:)
Drudge also sometimes includes videos from youtube etc. when they are currently the best source for a story (but it's not so common and probably shouldn't be).
If there was something like IRC chat where people suggest links, they maybe after certain people gain trust you can give them access to update, like Andrew Breitbart and drudgereport?

[FrankRep]

The Freedom Report hasn't been updated in forever. What happened?

http://www.FreedomReport.com/