Q and A with: WorldNetDaily.com

Founded in May 1997 by Joseph and Elizabeth Farah, WorldNetDaily.com has become one of the leading internet news sites in terms of both influence and traffic. Among its accomplishments: it was voted the most popular website on the internet every week for nearly two years running between 1999 and 2001; its readers spend more time on it than any other news site, including those of giants CNN, MSNBC and ESPN; it often ranks at the top in number of page views per user and minutes per page; and it attracts nearly five million unique visitors per month and more than 40 million page views.

Its mission statement states that WorldNetDaily seeks to play the role of "a watchdog exposing government waste, fraud, corruption and abuse of power." And although it doesn't explicitly say so in its mission statement, the site bases its news gathering and reporting values on a Christian worldview, which includes covering issues related to human life and the family from that perspective.

With its full-time staff of 25 people, the site is seeking to spark "a media revolution."

In many respects, it has already done so. It has claimed a number of media "scoops," winning 14 Associated Press citations for stories it has broken - by far the most of any internet news site.

Joseph Farah brought more than 25 years of newspaper experience with him when he started WorldNetDaily, including stints as editor-in-chief of the Sacramento Union (California) and director of news operations for the Los Angeles Herald Examiner. The Interim had the opportunity to speak to him recently by telephone during a break in his busy schedule, to discuss the latest happenings at WorldNetDaily, the rise of alternative media and his plans for the future.

The Interim: What's new at WorldNetDaily? What have been your recent initiatives and what have you been working on?

Farah: To be honest, there isn't a whole lot new. We've been doing this since 1997. There are a number of firsts I can talk about regarding WorldNetDaily. We're the first internet news site to launch into syndication columnists - myself, Bill O'Reilly, David Limbaugh, Vox Day. In terms of producing original content, that has been a very big deal for WorldNetDaily. We're the first internet news site to begin a book publishing company. We've been at it for over a year now. We had a New York Times number one bestseller with Michael Savage's book, and we expect his follow-up next month to be equally as successful. We've produced about 20 books over the last 15 months or so. We have more than 24 titles in the works and under contract. So books have been a major part of our revenue stream, as well as a real innovation for an internet news site. Now, there are many imitators out there attempting to do the same thing …

There hasn't been an extraordinarily high number of new initiatives. Right now, what we're trying to do in terms of a new initiative is to make this company profitable. We're probably 18 to 24 months from that possibility. In order to do that, it often means cutting corners, rather than starting new initiatives. It's absolutely imperative that we get there … The last few months, we've been operating on a cash-positive basis, but that's still a long way from profitability, because we've got probably $5.5 million invested in this company and need to get to the point where we're not only paying our way, but recouping that investment …

We've had a lot of successes here. There's the creation of an offline magazine that's just exploding in growth - over 30,000 subscribers in just two years. There's the creation of other online premium services, like the G-2 bulletin. Basically, for the next six to 10 months, it's going to be solidifying the gains that we've made and trying to do everything we can to achieve profitability.

The Interim: You've also taken the plunge into radio, I understand.

Farah: That's another first. We're probably the first internet content company to launch a daily radio show. It's actually our third effort in seven years. Elizabeth and I did a daily radio show more than five years ago. It wasn't that big - we had about 12 affiliates at that time. We launched our second effort with Jeff Metcalf (sp?) as host in 2000. That wasn't spectacularly big or effective, either. We gave it two years to try to bring it along. This summer, we were handed the opportunity to take over the existing network program of Oliver North. It had 70 affiliates at the time. The first six months have been spectacular - we've grown it to 80 affiliates running from coast to coast. It's going strong and we think the third time's a charm.

The Interim: Why do you think such a level of success in a media world where people have so many avenues to get information and news? How have you cut through it all and achieved the level you have?

Farah: There's something very different about the content of WorldNetDaily that creates the niche. We've always looked at our mission as essentially being a watchdog on government. It's an old-fashioned idea - the central role of a free press in a free society is to serve as a watchdog on government. We take it very, very seriously. Most of what we do in terms of content is geared toward the idea of exposing corruption, fraud, waste and abuse wherever we find it, most particularly in government. That appears to be a winning formula, at least in terms of appeal to readers, because we've been able to attract a regular audience of over five million people.

There are lots of other news organizations around the world that are hitting around the periphery of what we're doing - Fox News, et cetera, but the watchdog is absolutely unique to WorldNetDaily. Sadly so, because I wish there was more competition in this area, since that is what the press is supposed to do.

The other thing that is unique about WorldNetDaily and our approach … we have a Christian worldview. We're unashamed about it. We're not a Christian news organization … but there's no question, the leadership on down to every editor and reporter bring that to the table. It's obvious to readers of WorldNetDaily that they're getting a different perspective, a different worldview from any other news organization in the world.

The Interim: You also do a lot of coverage of human life issues, for example, with the Terri Schiavo case. Is that an area you emphasize as well?

Farah: That certainly comes under the heading of Christian worldview. It's also indicative of our watchdog role. We believe that the Constitution means what it says. The Constitution says it protects life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness - life being the number one thing it protects. We believe that abortion is still illegal in this country, because of the Constitution. The lawyers behind Roe V. Wade went to extraordinary lengths to try to find a right to abortion in the Constitution … You have to deny that human life in the womb is human life, in order to say that the Constitution doesn't protect it. I don't think the most callous pro-abortion people on the planet can, in good conscience, deny that it's human life. Therefore, the Constitution protects it. So we think that's part of our government watchdog role. When the government loses its bearings and moorings, that's the most important time for the people in the press to blow the whistle.

The Interim: Does the success of WorldNetDaily, and other alternative news sources, signal the end of dominance by the "mainstream" press?

Farah: Yes, I think we're definitely at that point. I don't think they're the mainstream press. I think that's much too great of a compliment. I call it the downstream, establishment or elite press. Those are better adjectives because the kind of audience we, and other alternatives, have attracted shows that there is a real niche that's as big as the Grand Canyon for what we do. All you have to do is look at network news ratings, and the plummeting circulations of major newspapers, and can see that there's something going on, there's something very wrong with their approach. That wouldn't be happening unless there was somewhere for people to go …

You can look at the Fox News formula, which isn't one I would even approve of. However, it is an alternative, and it has become the number one alternative on cable television for a reason - people are dissatisfied with what has existed.

The Interim: Do you think the average media consumer has more savvy now and is more critical about what he or she takes in?

Farah: Not the average consumer. We haven't gotten there yet. We're still hitting around the edges … Everywhere I go in this country, I still run into people who haven't heard of WorldNetDaily. Most people are still unaware of these alternatives. Most people have not realized there are alternative sources of news on the internet … Frankly, there are very few real alternatives for national and international news - independent sources that were created specifically for the internet. Surprisingly few, after all this time. We're happy we've been able to distinguish ourselves as the largest of those that do exist, but there are precious few.

The Interim: If someone in Canada was looking to do what you're doing, from a Canadian perspective, what advice would you give them?

Farah: I'd tell them to raise as much money as they can, and would be happy at that point to tell them everything I know. I've had so many inquiries from people … It's putting the cart before the horse unless you can raise the money necessary to get it off the ground. We didn't raise all that much money for WorldNetDaily, but we did it at a time when it was much easier to get investors to support anything going on on the internet. It's very tough now … Investors want to see a real plan. I have my hands full trying to keep WorldNetDaily going, so I don't have unlimited time to help other people with similar endeavours. I wish I did.

I think the important thing is to have that sense of mission and focus, and be prepared for a very long uphill climb. In some ways, the rewards are instant. There's a lot of instant gratification in what we do. For instance, we were able to attract a very sizable within weeks and months of launching. But it doesn't translate into revenues so quickly. So you have to be prepared for how you support the project.

The Interim: You really do things first class - you have top-notch columnists, a high calibre of writing and analysis. You don't see a lot of that on the internet. Your site really stands out.

Farah: I worked in the newspaper business for 25 years before starting WorldNetDaily. What I tried to do was bring the best of what I learned in those 25 years to this medium. There are things about the establishment press that are worth keeping. You don't want to throw the baby out with the bath water. In terms of writing, style and appeal to readers, we used a lot of good, worthy techniques.

The Interim: Where do you see WorldNetDaily going from here?

Farah: One of the things we have in our plans for the next year or two is to start some foreign bureaus. We've done some foreign spot reporting - sending reporters to places to stay for days or weeks at a time. We'd like to start emphasizing foreign news with some key bureaus and I suspect that within a year, we'll probably open our first foreign bureau in Jerusalem.