by Konstantinos Poulis

“He was a fine boy, a kind-hearted, brave boy, he felt for his father's honor and resented the cruel insult to him and stood up for him. And so in the first place, we will remember him, boys, all our lives. And even if we are occupied with most important things, if we attain to honor or fall into great misfortune—still let us remember how good it was once here, when we were all together, united by a good and kind feeling which made us, for the time we were loving that poor boy, better perhaps than we are. …You must know that there is nothing higher and stronger and more wholesome and good for life in the future than some good memory… Perhaps we may even grow wicked later on, may be unable to refrain from a bad action, may laugh at men's tears and at those people who say as Kolya did just now, ‘I want to suffer for all men,’ and may even jeer spitefully at such people. But however bad we may become—which God forbid—yet, when we recall how we buried Ilusha, how we loved him in his last days, and how we have been talking like friends all together, at this stone, the cruelest and most mocking of us—if we do become so—will not dare to laugh inwardly at having been kind and good at this moment! What's more, perhaps, that one memory may keep him from great evil!’”

Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov

We are fortunate, in a way: we don’t seem crazy anymore; we’re not viewed as odd; the idea that you can convince someone to pay for open-access content on the Internet is no longer outright laughable. The TPP managed to produce a daily newsfeed, original content, investigative stories and news analyses, television, and radio; it succeeded at becoming a truly expansive medium, open to the international conversation about the crisis. It found a way to collaborate with notable international media outlets and, what is most important, to win readers—readers willing to pay. To have, that is, subscribers. The arguments might not have always been right, but they always reflected the consciences of their authors, who wrote in service of the public good as they understood it. No other purpose ever determined the content.

Right now, the problem of the mass media isn’t limited to the traditionally corrupt systemic media. Even the media that, since the beginning of the crisis, have played an important role in informing the progressive-leaning public eventually cede to the interests of the government or the oligarchs who sustain them. Our country is currently at the bottom of the list in terms of faith in the media. As this situation becomes even more dire, the urgency of our need to keep the TPP’s journalistic endeavor alive will only increase.

Starting today, we’re back. The daily TPP is alive again—with a continuous feed, investigative stories and news analyses. The electronic magazine insert, Zin, will be published again. There will be an even bigger feed of translations from important English-language media outlets (The Intercept, Project Syndicate, Political Critique), with which our publisher had built collaborative relationships. Anaskopisi is starting back up. We’re also working to build new partnerships with people who have stood by our side, and who have offered to support us.

The English-language version is now also up and running. Costas had dreams that weren’t confined to Greek borders. He had a vision for an international ThePressProject capable of presenting the Anglophone public with an accurate picture of the historical and global significance of what has been happening in Greece these last seven years. He also envisioned that this international edition would be able to finance its own reporting from different corners of the world—with internationally respected journalists able to make the most of ThePressProject’s financial model of complete independence and contribute original primary content. It was with that vision in mind that he became a member of the International Press Institute, and began an official collaboration with Julian Assange which enabled the TPP to be a part of Wikileaks revelations. He also wrote articles in English that were read by hundreds of thousands of people. Our first goal, then, is that the TPP, from the very first day of its renewed operations, will be just as you left it—and that you’ll keep it on its feet. Our second is to keep dreaming.

None of us is Efimeros. We’re overwhelmed with awe as we begin to realize just how many things he did. After the initial shock—and no one was prepared for it, whatever they might say—we can now start to regroup, and pledge that our dedication to the principles of independent journalism will remain uncompromised. We have the courage to say this because we won’t just be relying on our own good character: there are, after all, many good people who work at other media outlets, and we’re certain they don’t lack ethical integrity. Our independence is assured by our financial model: the TPP will continue not to be funded by the government, the banks, and the oligarchs. It is with this confidence that we address the public who sustained ThePressProject, and affirm that it will continue to produce unhindered journalism free of sensationalism, capable of distinguishing what is important from what is not, and, most significant of all, unbeholden to the interests of the government and the oligarchs. This is because you will be the ones to pay for it.  

In the days that followed Costas’ death, we were surprised to read so many messages and comments bidding him farewell. We were surprised at how many people he had influenced, at how many who mourned him as if he were one of their own, even if they had never met him in real life. We think there is a reason for this, namely that difficult circumstances are often used to justify ethical compromises: “what else could I have done?” We believe that those who were moved by the news of the death of ThePressProject’s founder understood that something momentous had happened not only in terms of journalism, but also on a human level. That this was someone who had passionately dedicated himself to a goal larger than himself, and contrary to his own financial interest. He did all this amid the crisis, at enormous personal cost. That kind of courage is exceedingly rare.

These days we’re counting our strengths and our money, as we set about seeing how we can keep this outlet not just running but restless. How to minister to ambitious plans without compromising our principles, just as Costas taught us over all these years. 

So we have something to tell you, which those of you who belong to the 1101 already know well. But it is extremely important that everyone who esteems the TPP and wants it to stay running know it, too. Costas supplemented the TPP account with considerable amounts of money from his other work as a programmer and graphic designer. Those sources of funding have now disappeared, and the difference needs to be covered by new subscriptions.  We realize that, for the immediate future, the TPP will be left in a financial lurch. The loss of this income threatens us with serious crisis. We ask that you be there for us and help us, just as you have done in the past, but even more so now. And this is urgent, it is not something that can be postponed. Do it today, or actually now!

Thus we end this piece in the same way that our publisher and friend always ended his own: by asking you for money. By reminding you that whoever is able to support the independent journalistic enterprise of the TPP needs to do it at once. We ask that, if you already make regular contributions, you increase that amount to 10, 20, or 50 euros. And we ask that those of you who do not have the means find someone else and persuade him or her to contribute. And, most importantly, we ask that those of you who have the money but do not subscribe, subscribe.
If you don’t pay for the news, someone else will, and they won’t have your best interests in mind. We exist only because you support us, and only to the extent that you support us.

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ThePressProject bank accounts:

PIRAEUS BANK
6598-105207-071 (PAPADOPOULOU ZOI)
IBAN: GR03 0171 5980 0065 9810 5207 071
BIC: PIRBGRAA

ALPHA BANK
29200-2101-098-278 (PAPADOPOULOU ZOI)
IBAN: GR31 0140 2920 2920 0210 1098 278
SWIFT: CRBAGRAA

NATIONAL BANK OF GREECE*
138/620264-01 (KARATZA GRANETA)
IBAN: GR50 0110 1380 0000 1386 2026 401