Rational Review News Digest commenced publication on December 23 2002, and since then appears every non-holiday weekday (barring emergencies, which are few and far between). It’s available on the web, by email (one message a day, no extra spam), on Facebook, via Twitter.
Its true history, however, goes all the way back to 1991, when Libernet, the freedom movement’s first daily news and commentary “roundup,” commenced email publication. In the late 1990s, the first major libertarian “portal” site, Free-Market.Net, began publishing another “roundup” called Freedom News Daily, which later acquired/absorbed Libernet.
On the evening of Thursday, December 19th, 2002, the board of Free-Market.Net‘s owner entity, the Henry Hazlitt Foundation, voted to declare bankruptcy. The Free-Market.Net web site — and with it, publication of Freedom News Daily — shut down literally overnight.
At that point, several Freedom News Daily staff members, who also published a webzine (Rational Review) of their own, came together to ensure that the freedom movement would continue to receive a daily web- and email-based news and commentary “roundup.” The newsletter debuted the following Monday.
In 2003, the assets of Free-Market.Net were acquired by the International Society for Individual Liberty, which resumed publication of Freedom News Daily. In late 2004, ISIL and RRND partnered to continue publication of FND as a “re-branded” edition of RRND. ISIL is now known as Liberty International.
Editors:
Thomas L. Knapp
Steve Trinward
Editors Emeritus:
Mary Lou Seymour
R. Lee Wrights