It was started by members of the Society of Professional Journalists Internet discussion list but was never affiliated with the SPJ . The paper has no political , corporate or other affiliation , but was founded to give journalists around the world an opportunity to have a financial stake in their own work . Each story carried by the paper earned equity for the correspondent in profits from advertising and subscriptions , and income when their stories sold to other newspapers . The paper began publication on April 10 , 1995 , becoming the first daily Internet news site with original news and features . Nine days later , the paper 's chief correspondent , former Memphis AP bureau chief Bill Johnson , began breaking news coverage of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building bombing in Oklahoma City , which continued until the death of Timothy McVeigh and the conviction of his accomplice . The paper was honored by the ACLU in 2000 with an Upton Sinclair Freedom of Expression Award ( " Uppie " ) for its groundbreaking First Amendment victory in the '' Shea v. Reno '' U.S. Supreme Court case , in which Internet censorship was ruled unconstitutional
Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building bombing
Oklahoma City bombing
American Reporter