About The Outsider
Independent, student-led publication. Unafraid to take risks and challenge the status quo.
Mainstream media in the U.S. is fundamentally flawed. They treat the scientific consensus of climate change like a “debate,” omit key nuances from their coverage of geopolitical conflicts, and spend more time covering missing planes than American poverty.
Whenever we watch cable TV or read the news from a mainstream media outlet, we are entering a system plagued by corporate and state bias, as is brilliantly outlined in Noam Chomsky’s Manufacturing Consent. Furthermore, the solutions to the issues our country faces are framed as a binary choice between the Democratic and Republican options, quelling any potential for insightful, open-minded political thought.
With such a media climate, it seems like genuine, meaningful articles that matter to average people and encourage critical thinking are becoming harder and harder to come by.
We are an independent, student-led publication with zero ties or allegiances to the establishment, the status quo, or the “insider class.” The only loyalties we have are to truth, morality, and what’s right.
We are unafraid to challenge authority and hold our leaders accountable. Not a single writer for The Outsider is bought off by corporate, state, or party interests. This gives us free rein to advocate for what’s right for our country and our world without catering to special interests.
We are dedicated to telling real stories with real meaning. As a raw, student-led publication, we care about the issues that actually matter to people — the policies and ethical bedrock that have an actual application to our lives.
We are committed to broadcasting opinions from all across the political spectrum — not just Democratic and Republican, but nationalist, globalist, socialist, libertarian, anarchist — you name it. There is a desperate need for political publications that transcend the two party dichotomy of choices we’re so often presented with, and we look to do just that.
We are The Outsider, after all.
Meet Our Team
Lew Blank
Editor
Lew Blank is a student at the University of Minnesota, studying Political Science and Journalism. Blank aligns himself most closely with social democracy, and he currently works as the campaign manager for Nancy McLean for State Senate. He also writes occasional articles for Data For Progress.
Tyler Wendland
Writer
Tyler Wendland is a computer science student at the University of Minnesota. Politically open-minded, Tyler enjoys following and writing about current and upcoming elections in the United States.
Timothy O’Shea
Writer
Timothy O’Shea is a political science and economics student at Case Western Reserve University. He is a social democrat, and is interested in socialist theory.
Jackson Bianchi
Writer
Leftist, son of teachers, brother of a man with autism.
SOUND DESIGNER: Michael Shaten
GUEST PANELISTS: Gabriel Spahn, Clark Amann
If you are interested in being a writer for The Outsider or would like to collaborate with us in any way, please email Lew Blank at moviesbylew@gmail.com.
