Editor’s Note: News2Share is typically a raw-footage, zero-commentary outlet. We don’t express opinions in our work, only show the viewer what matters: The who, what, when, where, how, and especially why of the movements shaping the world around us. This story is a rare personal reflection by editor-in-chief Ford Fischer.

News2Share was co-founded by Trey Yingst and I – both then students at American University – in 2013 as an engine to deliver raw footage documentation of the movements pushing and shaping American politics without the bias and commentary of the mainstream media. While News2Share was totally independent, it could never have succeeded without the friends we made along the way. From staff like News Director Alejandro Alvarez, to dozens of raw video contributors, our operation has never been about one person.

News2Share mostly focuses on political movements, but what I realized over the years is that the independent media has become its own movement. Their goals may vary with their precise focuses, but they are bound together by the common thread of challenging narrative and spreading their truths.

To that end, I’ve made many friends along the way. Our styles of journalism vary drastically, but a friends group formed that would have each other’s backs and pool resources, from advocating for one another in trying times to giving each other couches to sleep on when covering events in someone else’s neighborhood.

Left to Right: Robert Caputo, Carey Wedler, Derrick Broze, Ford Fischer, Nicholas Bernabe, Justin King

To our surprise and excitement, Langley Productions (best known as the producers of the long-running reality show Cops) took notice and expressed their interest in shooting a reality show about our independent media friend circle. The show would have followed Carey Wedler (then editor-at-large of The Anti-Media, Youtuber), Justin King (editor of The Fifth Column, best known for his video opinion column Beau of the Fifth Column), Derrick Broze (Founder, CEO of The Conscious Resistance Network), Nick Bernabe (editor-at-large of The Anti-Media), Robert Caputo – a media entrepreneur – and myself on behalf of News2Share.

To anyone familiar with this crowd, you know this is a deeply anti-establishment group of journalists. The reality show’s premise would have been that as we cover events side-by-side, camera crews would follow us to document the “behind the scenes” of our unique brands, our conflicts with the mainstream media establishment (for example – social media censorship) as well as our own philosophical disagreements with one another.

Ford Fischer interviews then-president of Planned Parenthood Cecile Richards

Their documentary crew followed all of us around throughout the two days of Women’s March 2018 (Las Angeles and then the following day in Las Vegas) to flesh out our processes. Overall, we had a great weekend, exploring ideas with marchers and documenting MAGA counter-protests. While remaining my particular brand of no-opinion objective, the challenge I laid out when interviewing attendees was to ask people (a year into Trump’s presidency) what activism can look like in the absence of electoral victory. This included that I conducted one of the last interviews with Cecile Richards ahead of her departure as president of Planned Parenthood.

The trailer that was finally completed to pitch the concept to networks was great. It showed us working as a team, occasionally pushing back on one another, and fleshed out our gripes with the mainstream media.

Unfortunately, every network that Langley met with to pitch the show ended up passing. I don’t want to make public which channels turned us down, but it suffices to say a show about a ragtag group of young journalists – some with apparent anarchist leanings – telling you to stop watching cable news wasn’t going to make it onto any cable channel owned by one of the six corporations that control 90% of the media.

Today, two years later, Langley Productions generously released the pitch trailer to the participants to show our respective networks. While it surely is disappointing that the show doesn’t seem to be on track for cable, I am excited to show my audience the show that would have been:

In the couple years since the trailer’s production, a lot has changed. Youtube demonetization and censorship have made our jobs considerably harder. Many of our careers have evolved. Nick co-founded a CBD company called “Higher Hemp.” I took on a part time camera operator position at Daily Mail.

In spite of whatever changes have come along the way, our friends group has continued to have each-other’s backs and stick by our networks. As a family of independent journalists, all of us have continued to stand by each other, and will continue to do so.

While the TV show may not happen as planned, we are completely open to taking it in a new direction if the right producer comes around.