Common Dreams (Opinion)

U.S. progressive left

Background

Common Dreams was founded in 1997 by political consultant Craig Brown and his wife Lina Newhouser as a nonprofit alternative to corporate-owned media, explicitly aimed at amplifying progressive voices and grassroots movements. It combines original reporting with a large volume of syndicated and original opinion pieces from progressive writers, unions, and advocacy organizations like Common Dreams' regular contributors from groups such as MoveOn and various labor and environmental organizations. The outlet has never taken corporate or government money, relying instead on small individual donations (averaging around $28 per gift) and occasional foundation grants, which it says protects its editorial independence but also ties its sustainability to its donor base's enthusiasm. Media Bias/Fact Check and AllSides both rate it as left-biased, while crediting it with high factual accuracy in its straight news reporting; its opinion pages are more overtly partisan than its news wire content. It has occasionally faced criticism for uncritically running opinion pieces with dubious sourcing, though its fact-checking policy applies primarily to original reporting. Over nearly three decades it has remained a fixture of the online progressive media ecosystem, covering labor, climate, foreign policy, and civil liberties from an explicitly left perspective rather than claiming neutrality.

Sources

1. Ownership & Funding | Common Dreams
2. About us | Common Dreams
3. Common Dreams - Bias and Credibility - Media Bias/Fact Check
4. Common Dreams Media Bias | AllSides
5. Common Dreams

Profile compiled 2026-09-26; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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