10 Most Influential People in Alternative Media, 2011

By Truth is Treason         Benzinga Contributor         June 13, 2011 12:00 PM

TruthisTreason.net – Kevin  Hayden

Source: Activist  Post

Many readers will expect to see Matt Drudge or Arianna Huffington on this  list.  Although they both indeed have leading Internet news websites that  cover some fringe stories and report on systematic injustices more so than the  mainstream media, they primarily aggregate mainline news.  Therefore, they  are excluded from our “alternative media” label.

Hayden’s Note:

Sadly, Your’s Truly did not even make the Honorable Mentions list… maybe next year.  Le sigh.  However, a lot of really  hard-working, great bloggers and personalities did, such as Doug Owen, Cassandra  Anderson, the Intel Hub and Global Research.  Maybe I should get back to  writing more original articles, eh?  (Still welcoming original content from  readers… ahem.)

The criteria we’ve chosen to base these rankings of the most  influential alternative media figures are the following;

• people that have the courage to seek the truth no matter where the  information leads them;
• those with the courage to question 9/11;
• those who don’t buy into the false left-right political paradigm;
• those who are grounded in peace and liberty;
• those with the communication skills and platform to affect real change

Significantly, each of the people who made our list is clearly driven by  unyielding passion.  Despite some natural disagreements, they each provide  a unique bridge to forbidden knowledge and they all deserve high praise for  their efforts and commitment to inform the public. Sincerely, it is very  encouraging to have so many talented voices leading the stampede for truth,  liberty, justice, and peace.

With so many people doing great work in the real alternative media, we are  sure that some deserving reporters will be left off the list. Although Activist  Post and TruthisTreason.net have forged relationships with some of the  people on this list, we’ve tried to remain as non-biased as possible in our  observations.  At the end, we’ve also included a list of those who deserve  honorable mention for their tireless work and talent providing the truth.

10. Dr. Paul Craig Roberts: Paul Craig Roberts is one  of the most respected columnists in the alternative media.  His syndicated  articles can be seen on many leading alternative news websites including Lew  Rockwell, Infowars, Counterpunch, InformationClearingHouse and countless others.  Roberts scores huge points in the credibility department having been the former  head of policy at the Department of Treasury under Reagan, and the editor of the  Wall Street Journal — among a long list of other accolades.  His research  is impeccable and his vision of how the world really operates is second to none.   He knows why and when the global chess pieces are moving, and has the  incredible talent to communicate difficult concepts to the general public.   He has written several books including The Tyranny of Good Intentions, and How the Economy was Lost. His many interviews can be  seen on Russia Today and Prison Planet TV.  Roberts is also a recent  contributor to Gerald Celente’s esteemed Trends Journal.   There is no one better at reporting the reality of geo-political events  and the workings of the Treasury and the Federal Reserve.

9. Gary Franchi: Franchi is a longtime researcher and  liberty activist.  His essays and reports have been published all over the  Internet and in the book Songs of Freedom: Tales From the Revolution.  He also the producer of several  documentaries like Camp FEMA and Don’t Tread on Me.  Because of his tenacious work, he now  has one of the best alternative media platforms on the Internet.  His  liberty social network, RTR.org (Restore the Republic) has over  32,000 members and is growing quickly.  The quality of his Reality Report newscasts rival the  multi-million dollar productions at any cable news outfit — except he reports  TRUTH news.  Franchi does an excellent job aggregating the most important  stories in the alternative news and presenting them in a concise and visually  appealing newscast.  We’ve found each of Franchi’s recent Reality Reports  to be must-see TV, and only expect this up-and-comer’s influence to continue to  grow.

8. Adam Kokesh: Kokesh is a former Iraq war veteran turned  peace activist, a former Libertarian congressional candidate, and the current  host of Russia Today’s Adam Vs. The Man nightly cable  TV show.  He recently gained recognition when he was brutality  arrested for silently dancing at the Thomas Jefferson Memorial with  other activists.  The video of the alarming arrest went absolutely viral  and surely brought many new viewers to his TV show and to the truth movement.   Kokesh is well-informed, well-spoken, committed to individual liberty and  peace, and has the legitimacy of having served his country in combat. Kokesh  recently received high praise from a fellow journalist who details  his appeal here.  Watch for Kokesh’s influence to grow as more  people become aware that a genuine truther has an entertaining and informative  TV show.  The establishment is in big trouble with the likes of Kokesh on  the airwaves.

7. Stefan Molyneux: Stefan Molyneux may be perhaps the most  eloquent “red pill” in the alternative media. A self-described philosopher,  Molyneux has a strong knowledge of history and a core compass reading of freedom  and non-violence.  He hosts a popular radio broadcast on his FreedomainRadio; his Youtube uploads have been  viewed over 6 million times on his channel alone, and his site claims over 25  million downloads making his ideas the “largest and most popular philosophical  conversation in the world.”  His articles can be seen on mega-sites like  Lew Rockwell and others; he has published several books on the philosophy of  liberty and non-violence (many of which are offered  FREE from his site) and how they apply in today’s world, and he is  a frequent guest on RT’s Adam Vs. The Man  and the Keiser Report.   Despite his overwhelming knowledge of the corrupt system, Molyneux always  remains optimistic in his presentation, which is quite refreshing among all the  doom-and-gloom.  Molyneux remains authentic in that he survives solely from  donations and book sales –so please support his  efforts.  We expect Molynuex to end up as one of the most  important voices of our time.

6. Max Keiser: Max Keiser is perhaps the fastest rising star  in the alternative media.  He is a literal boy genius having invented the virtual  specialist technology / prediction markets, Hollywood Stock Exchange,   Karmabanque, and PirateMyFilm.  His  economic and geo-political analysis has appeared on the BBC, in documentary  movies, and on sites like Huffington Post and Zero Hedge.  Traffic on his  personal website, MaxKeiser.com, has nearly doubled  since April according to Alexa.  He  is currently the host of the must-see Keiser Report on Russia Today in addition  to several other projects.  He is arguably the most powerful anti-bankster  voice in the world, openly and relentlessly referring to them appropriately as “terrorists and rapists” and having helped drive silver purchases to new heights  with his viral “Crash the Bankers” campaign.  He is also emerging as a  leading anti-austerity voice for global citizens, having visited and spoken to  growing protest groups in Ireland, Egypt, and soon Greece. He has an uncanny  ability to boil down complicated economic “problems” for easy consumption by the  general public.  In short, Max Keiser has deservedly become the most  influential voice of the “Resistance” to bankster tyranny.

5. David Icke: David Icke is most appropriately called a  researcher and presenter of knowledge.  In addition to his voluminous  writing of in-depth  books, his main platform is his all-day stage performance that  still leave audiences wanting more. These performances are regularly sold  out in large venues across the planet. Significantly, he is the only presenter  in the alternative media arena to consistently draw crowds in the thousands to  hear him speak.  His research goes “beyond the cutting edge” of the  alternative news and his popular website has  become a valuable news aggregator.  Besides brilliantly dissecting the “5  sense reality”, as he calls it, Icke also dives head first down the rabbit hole  and provides historical evidence of some very bizarre and thought-provoking  phenomena. In turn, this makes him one of the most courageous and interesting  figures of our time.  David Icke may be one of the most dangerous people to  the establishment, because he has the ability to convince regular people of  their immense power to affect positive change.

4. Jeff Rense: Jeff Rense has built a massive  audience of those seeking the truth inside and outside of the Matrix. His  website, Rense.com, has been by far the best news  aggregator covering the Gulf oil disaster and the current Fukushima nuclear  meltdown.  His website is the 2101st  most-viewed in the United States on Alexa — a powerful ranking  indeed.  Agree with him or not, Rense deserves credit for venturing down  the rabbit hole of reality which brings a unique perspective to alternative  news.  He is one of the only sources attempting to responsibly cover the  metaphysical and extra-planetary nature of the Matrix.  He is quietly  building a strong radio presence with talented new-comers like Mike Rivero and Charlie McGrath being added to his  network.  Look for Rense’s influence to continue to escalate as we have not  heard the end of the Fukushima nuclear holocaust of the Northern Hemisphere  which he’s so brilliantly covering.

3. Lew Rockwell:  Lew Rockwell is a liberty icon.   Rockwell has immense credibility having served as Ron Paul’s chief of  staff and his presidential campaign manager, as a scholar of Austrian School of  economics, and as the chairman of the Ludwig von Mises Institute. It’s telling  how powerful Rockwell’s platform is when others on this list include being  published at LewRockwell.com as a benchmark of  their success. His website is visited by millions each month, his radio show  contains high-brow intellectual discussions with other great minds, and his  books The Left, The Right and The State and Speaking of Liberty are worth their weight in gold.  As the  2012 presidential race approaches, look for Rockwell’s loud megaphone to propel  Ron Paul’s message of peace, liberty and economic sanity to the masses.   Rockwell brings much-needed legitimacy to controversial issues like ending  the Fed, ending the wars, and bringing about a system of non-coercive Anarchy.   He has indeed paved the way for many others, while also remaining a  growing influence.

2. Mike Adams: Mike Adams, known as the “Health  Ranger”, is a consumer health advocate and independent journalist.  Mike  Adams is young, authentic, well-spoken, and a savvy businessman.  He is the  founder and editor of the very popular website NaturalNews.com (ranked  1,184 overall in the U.S.) and NaturalNews.TV.  His articles  have been republished all over the Internet, and his radio show and short films  are viewed by millions. Through his unyielding passion, he has built a team of  respected contributors to his flagship news site which offer some of the best  natural health and freedom news on the Web.  He never ceases to improve his  platform for his expanding audience and knows how to monetize his business with  products he genuinely believes in.  The sky is the limit for the Health  Ranger’s influence in the alternative media.

1. Alex Jones: Love or hate his style, Alex Jones is the  King of alternative news.  His radio show reaches millions per day; his  movies like Fall of the Republic and The Obama Deception have been seen by tens of millions the world  over on Youtube and elsewhere; his website rankings for Infowars and PrisonPlanet are off the charts  with many investigative articles frequently supported by Drudge, and many on his  staff are nearly deserving of being in the top-10 in their own right.  The  quality of his production has improved every year and is easily the best in the  alternative media.  Jones gets the most informative expert guests who  expose a wide variety of inconvenient truths.  He is a pioneer in  encouraging fans to make copies of his material and give them away for free to  help awaken more minds.  Anyone who follows Alex Jones knows that he is  driven by intense passion for humanity and never stops working.  It’s hard  to believe that Jones is still only in his thirties, given his 15 years of  dedicated reporting.

There is one person that is not on this list, but should be a major footnote  on all of the above media figures, as his work has pioneered much of what is  discussed in today’s alternative media:  G. Edward Griffin.  Griffin  is widely considered one of the most brilliant researchers and writers of actual  history.  He exemplifies the notion of following the evidence no matter  where it leads him. But he is so much more than that to the group above in terms  of his philosophy of individual liberty and non-aggression. His book, The Creature From Jekyll Island is one of the most powerful indictments of  the Federal Reserve and is still a bestseller. His many other books, websites at RealityZone.com and his foundation Freedom-Force.org, with movies like his  recent documentary What in the World Are They  Spraying are all ground-breaking in their own right.  This is not  meant to be a runner-up award, but more of a lifetime influence shout out to a  true pioneer.  We’re all indebted to Griffin’s hard work.

Honorable Mention Many in this group are deserving of far  more praise than this format allows, but we’d be remiss not to mention the  following names.  Here are some of the rising stars and the unsung heroes  of the alternative media in no particular order:

• Shepard Ambellas, Alex  Thomas:  True investigative reporters who share their knowledge at TheIntelHub.com They are fearless  journalists who utilize the full range of the Internet to release their  intel. 
• Cassandra Anderson: Writer  and editor for MorphCity.com, as well as G. Edward  Griffin’s news editor and research assistant.  She is one of the leading  experts on Agenda 21 and the globalist plan of collectivization.
• James Corbett: Terrific  analyst, researcher, writer, web TV presenter and founder of CorbettReport.com
• Rady Ananda: Brilliant  investigative journalist and editor for blogs Food Freedom and COTO Report whose work has been  published across the Internet on all major alternative media news sites.
• Doug Owen: Oracle Radio  personality and producer and operator of BlacklistedNews.com
• Global  Research: Michel Chossudovsky, Andrew Gavin Marshall and  staff brilliantly report on global events and have a fast-growing Internet  presence.
• Bob Tuskin: Terrific  interviewer and fearless investigator who has worked extensively with The Intel  Hub, and has his own radio show and website at BobTuskin.com
• Bill Ryan: His website and  forum at Project Avalon are  terrific resources, as well as his interviews with alternative media  personalities and government insiders.
• George Noory: Huge Internet  presence and the most-listened-to overnight radio show in America at Coast to Coast  AM.
• Alan Watt: Consummate  researcher into the history of elite control, and frequent guest on the Alex  Jones Show.  His website and his own radio show can be found at Cutting Through The  Matrix.
• Jim Marrs: Author of many  books on conspiracy truth, and one of the foremost experts on the JFK  assassination.  His work can be found at JimMarrs.com and has influenced  many of the above.

Read more: http://www.benzinga.com/11/06/1162960/10-most-influential-people-in-alternative-media-2011#ixzz1kg6TxU2N