Muros Invisibles- indy journalism in Venezuela

"I couldn't provide for my family. I spent all my time simply trying to obtain food. We had nothing.  I gave what little I could get to my children. I didn't eat. I lost a dangerous amount of weight, my hair. I developed anemia. That was before I lost friends to bullets in the protests of 2017." -Francezka Salazar, a Venezuelan opposition activist

What is Muros Invisibles?

Muros Invisibles  is an independent journalistic organization focused on the situation in Venezuela. 

For six months we have been providing independent reporting from the ground on the unfolding crisis. It is a story largely ignored by U.S media that worsens by the day. 

3.5 million  Venezuelans have fled from a country in collapse. Insecurity reigns in a country largely without laws outside of the capital city, Caracas, which in the last few years has become the most dangerous city in the world. It is a nation without any operating medical system, massive food insecurity, rampant corruption and in the midst of political crisis as opposition groups have risen up in open rebellion against the President, Nicolas Maduro. 

Muros Invisibles has been reporting from the ground on the situation from the Venezuelan border in Colombia. To date that reporting has taken the form of articles and photos published in digital newspapers in four countries. 

Not only is it critically important to provide the world with an unbiased view of what is occuring in that blighted nation, it is an opportunity to transform our organization into a specialized and functioning multimedia journalism company. In a post-fact world, the global community needs investigative independent reporting more than ever. It is critical to understanding the actions and repercussions of our societies decisions around the world. 

We want to expand our activities into the interior of Venezuela and begin producing video footage and podcasts in both Spanish and English as well as transform into an independent media company- which would allow us to maintain our independent approach. 


Our Work to Date 

Being on the ground on the border with Venezuela allowed  us to place reporting and photos in online newspapers in four countries . With more resources and increased visibility we could produce more content at a faster pace and with greater visibility. 

To date we have worked with the New Humanitarian , The Caracas Chronicles and the Bogota City Paper as well as produced content for online magazine Medium and the Muros Invisibles  website. 

We increase our ability to place articles in English media each day. And our unique perspective as independent correspondents on the ground grows more comprehensive by the day. 


What will we use the resources for?

Muros invisibles has two main goals for funds raised by this project. First, increase our visibility through advertising and greater google search metrics. Secondly, obtain the necessary equipment to produce and edit video in the field. 

Visibility
We currently rely on selling reported stories to established media sources for all of our income. This helps us reach a larger audience as well as establish credibility as professional journalists. But we believe there are many stories worth telling that don't fit the tone or the audience for the organizations we work with. 

These stories are worth telling. Maduros Invisibles would like to move forward into becoming a media company so that we can tell our own stories as well, and have them reach a larger audience. In order to achieve this goal, we need to establish a larger global presence. We plan to achieve this by promoting original and independent stories as we create them through  advertising on Social media as well as improved metrics for the search engine optimization. This costs money that as fledgling organization we do not possess. 

Equipment
As part of our plan to evolve into a financially independent media organization, we need the equipment necessary to produce and edit video content from the field. This includes not just cameras, but editing software and computers both compact enough and with the processing power to edit raw footage into finished pieces with tight publishing deadlines. 

Transforming into an organization that creates multimedia content instead of just articles and photos is a critical step to establishing a larger web-presence as well as telling stories in a more three-dimensional context. 



Summary

We believe it is a moral imperative to present the stories of the Venezuelan political and humanitarian crisis from an independent viewpoint. And not only is it possible to tell those stories in a way that avoids the filter of partner media companies, it is an opportunity to transform into an organization that has the reputation and the resources to repeat this endeavor in other emerging areas of Latin America. 

In a post-fact world, the global community needs a voice providing unbiased observations from the field more than ever. We want to give voice to the voiceless and tell the stories the big players in modern media don't have the time or the experience to tell. And to do that, we need your help. 

Thank you in advance for your consideration, If you would like to learn more about our organization you can visit www.murosinvisibles.com or follow us on twitter.


Donation Goals

5$: 
Listed on Muros Invisibles website as a contributor

10$:
Listed on Muros Invisibles and thanked on the View from the Wall podcast

50$:
Listed on the website, thanked on the podcast and 

100$: 
Your picture and name in a thank you video permanently posted on the website. 

500$:
All of the above as well as a facetime call from the border with Venezuela. You can talk with some locals! 

1000$+:
Joshua will come to your house for tea or a lot of coffee and do a write-up about the experience to be posted on the website. As well as give you a big hug and profuse thanks, even if you live in Antarctica. You will also have the upcoming video page on the website named after you i.e: "the 'Betty Smith' media viewing center.