Calling all rebels and rule-abiders, rabble rousers and reconcilers, vagabonds and locals, punks and preps, outcasts and incasts! We are announcing the launch of a new media outlet here in Eugene and the Willamette Valley at large. Welcome to the Dissonant Times: a name that we hope captures the variety of –at times, clashing– perspectives that our outlet will present as one (dis?)harmonic whole. We are the bandits, and hope you’ll be one too.
We will:
Dissonant Times will be a platform for citizen journalists and regular contributors of many personal and professional backgrounds across Lane County. Our scope and interests are broad, but we will especially share stories of those facing systemic barriers to access—access to resources, institutional power, community, safety, equity, etc. It is our mission to represent, empower, entertain, and connect the people of Eugene-Springfield and the surrounding areas through breaking news, op-eds, and a variety of creative content that features local happenings, perspectives, and talent. We will begin publishing online through our website and social media, but we have big plans in the works to expand to print and radio→ funding and interest allowing!
We value:
We believe grassroots media is uniquely capable of challenging power structures entrenched in mainstream politics and media. Dissonant Times will act as a reclamation of power by being an outlet by and for people who have historically lacked it. This publication seeks to steward creative, personal, and interpersonal autonomy through unconventional forms of storytelling and information-sharing. DT is a liberatory project that goes beyond mere social progressivism– therefore, we want to hear what YOU (yes, you!) have to say, and believe that collectively we can move the conditions of our culture toward that of a just, sustainable, and compassionate world.
We at the Dissonant Times love a little chaos – we believe there is inherent value in the unresolved parts of life that are meant to be explored through how we express ourselves. Dissonant Times has sprung from a collection of ideas, experiences, and relationships, the purpose of which is to become a tool for the people of this area to tell their own stories and create their own futures.
If any of this speaks to you, we ask that you help us make this outlet’s aspirations a reality. We don’t promise perfection, we certainly don’t promise professionalism, but we can tentatively offer some amount of loving inclusivity and a semi-conditional space for you to take up (teehee). We look forward to seeing what you help us become!