The following post was written in collaboration with my wife, kossack Jakkalbessie.
Street Scene, Santa Fe, NM, October 2012 by divineorder
Who frames political debate in America?
If you saw the VP debate between Biden and Ryan you may have noticed Martha Raddaz the moderator having the temerity to insinuate herself into the debate by calling into question one of Biden's statements and arguing that it was not true because she had contacts in the military who opposed President Obama's decisions in Afghanistan. Of course Ryan was agreeing with her. She made several statements what were anything but unbiased or neutral. Typical.
The Importance of Independent Media
Many of us love Dailykos because if often represents some of the best of independent sources and commentary on news and political events in the US. We come here because we realize what we would get on commericial teevee and radio are much too much corporate propaganda with little input from the 99%.
Why independent media? Here, from the 'about us' tab on the website for Democracy Now! .
WHY INDEPENDENT MEDIA ?
For true democracy to work, people need easy access to independent, diverse sources of news and information.
But the last two decades have seen unprecedented corporate media consolidation. The U.S. media was already fairly homogeneous in the early 1980s: some fifty media conglomerates dominated all media outlets, including television, radio, newspapers, magazines, music, publishing and film. In the year 2000, just six corporations dominated the U.S. media.
In addition, corporate media outlets in the U.S. are legally responsible to their shareholders to maximize profits.
Democracy Now! is funded entirely through contributions from listeners, viewers, and foundations. We do not accept advertisers, corporate underwriting, or government funding. This allows us to maintain our independence.
My wife kossack Jakkalbessie and I met Democracy Now! founder Amy Goodman last week at a fundraiser where she signed the sequel to her fourth NY Times bestseller, her latest book :
The Silenced Majority Stories of Uprisings, Occupations, Resistance, and Hope
By Amy Goodman and Denis Moynihan, Foreword by Michael Moore
photo by Jakkalbessie
This was BFD for us because we have been amazed and appreciative of the accomplishments of Amy Goodman over the years. Her bio:
Amy Goodman is the host and executive producer of Democracy Now!, a national, daily, independent, award-winning news program airing on over 1,100 public television and radio stations worldwide. Time Magazine named Democracy Now! its “Pick of the Podcasts,” along with NBC’s Meet the Press.
Goodman is the first journalist to receive the Right Livelihood Award, widely known as the 'Alternative Nobel Prize' for “developing an innovative model of truly independent grassroots political journalism that brings to millions of people the alternative voices that are often excluded by the mainstream media.” She is the first co-recipient of the Park Center for Independent Media’s Izzy Award, named for the great muckraking journalist I.F. Stone. The Independent of London called Amy Goodman and Democracy Now! "an inspiration"; PULSE named her one of the 20 Top Global Media Figures of 2009.
Goodman’s fifth book, The Silenced Majority: Stories of Uprisings, Occupations, Resistance, and Hope, written with Denis Moynihan, will be published this fall.This timely sequel to her fourth New York Times bestseller, Breaking the Sound Barrier, gives voice to the many ordinary people standing up to corporate and government power— and refusing to be silent. She co-authored the first three bestsellers with her brother, journalist David Goodman: Standing Up to the Madness: Ordinary Heroes in Extraordinary Times (2008), Static: Government Liars, Media Cheerleaders, and the People Who Fight Back (2006) and The Exception to the Rulers: Exposing Oily Politicians, War Profiteers, and the Media That Love Them (2004). She writes a weekly column (also produced as an audio podcast) syndicated by King Features, for which she was recognized in 2007 with the James Aronson Award for Social Justice Reporting.
Goodman has received the American Women in Radio and Television Gracie Award; the Paley Center for Media’s She’s Made It Award; and the Puffin/Nation Prize for Creative Citizenship. Her reporting on East Timor and Nigeria has won numerous awards, including the George Polk Award, Robert F. Kennedy Prize for International Reporting, and the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Award. She has also received awards from the Associated Press, United Press International, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and Project Censored. Goodman received the first ever Communication for Peace Award from the World Association for Christian Communication. She was also honored by the National Council of Teachers of English with the George Orwell Award for Distinguished Contribution to Honesty and Clarity in Public Language.
Expanding the Debate
Goodman was being her usual giving self, taking time from her grueling 100 city book tour to raise funds for KSFR 101.1 FM Santa Fe Public Radio.
Every new Presidential Election my wife and I become disgusted all over again at the abject failure and unfairness of the debates since the League of Women Voters gave up in disgust.
Wikipedia
The League sponsored the Presidential debates in 1976, 1980 and 1984.[2] On October 2, 1988, the LWV's 14 trustees voted unanimously to pull out of the debates, and on October 3 they issued a press release condemning the demands of the major candidates' campaigns:[3]
The League of Women Voters is withdrawing sponsorship of the presidential debates...because the demands of the two campaign organizations would perpetrate a fraud on the American voter. It has become clear to us that the candidates' organizations aim to add debates to their list of campaign-trail charades devoid of substance, spontaneity and answers to tough questions. The League has no intention of becoming an accessory to the hoodwinking of the American public.
—League President Nancy M. Neuman, LWV October 03, 1988
We told Amy we had come to the reception to personally thank her for the historic
Democracy Now ! Expand the Debate series giving third party candidates time to answer during the 2012 debates. For us this is a big win, giving voters a chance for Presidential debates like they used to be, debates where one could get more than just the two party frame of issues facing our country.
Itinerary from Hell
We had read about her itinerary online and suggested that while in tiny Bisbee she should walk across the street from the historic downtown and look over the edge at the open pit mine. She and Denis signed our books, and Jakkalbessie later remarked how impressed she was that Amy, though surely tired after touring 50 cities of the 100 city tour, looked at directly at us with her piercing eyes, clearly giving us a 100% of her attention as many people hovered in line behind us.
Cultural Freedom at the Lensic
After the reception fundraiser we saw Amy Goodman speak to a sold out crowd, part of the Lannan Foundation's Cultural Freedom series at the fabulous Lensic theater in the historic Plaza area of old Santa Fe.
The Lensic, Santa Fe, NM, October 2012 by divineorder
Credit: http://www.democracynow.org/...
We had been quite amazed to learn that Amy and her team were on a whirlwind tour across the country visiting 100 cities, some cities with several shoots and events . What a grueling trip.
The night before the fundraiser and speech she had been in Taos, and only hours after her speech she would be on location broadcasting fromLos Alamos at 3am so the show would be ready in time for 6am on the East Coast.
That same day the team moved on the Albuquerque, then Tuscon and Bisbee in Arizona, and on on:
Democracy Now! is on the road for a 100-city tour, starting with the Republican National Convention in Tampa and the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, running up to Election Day. We'll travel through many of the electoral swing states, going beyond the mainstream media’s obsessive focus on the latest poll numbers and candidate gaffes, to examine how people are organizing; the impacts of restrictive voter ID laws that are making it harder to vote; and how the massive influx of campaign cash following the Citizens United decision is changing how our democracy works. Join us for a public event near you -- to help raise critical funds for the public community television and radio stations across the country.
Inside the historic Lensic before Amy Goodman sell out crowd was seated, Santa Fe, NM October 2012 by divineorder
Denis Moynihan was first up with an introduction to Amy Goodman and some anecdotes from the publishing of the book. He quoted Michael Moore's intro to the book and Moore's description of their early days as journalists. Here is a quote from MM's intro to The Silenced Majority :
Here's the dominant image in my head of Amy Goodman during that month in Palestine: When the Israeli soldiers started firing their rubber bullets at us and a group of unarmed Palestinians, we would all run the other way(i.e., away from the bullets) and Amy Goodman would be running the opposite way--straight into melee.
Standing O
Greeted with a standing ovation, Goodman spoke of the importance of public participation in Democracy and her work as an independent. She told of her childhood growing up and having many discussions at the family dinner table . She said that she feels that community media is an extension of the discussions that go on around a kitchen-arguing, discussing, challenging each other, learning from each other.
The Silenced Majority, Missing from Corporate Media Reporting of Foreign Policy
Goodman feels that the corporate media in the United States misses the point of reporting in a democracy. As with her family, we all should be all debating the war and death, life and peace -- anything less is a disservice. As it stands media leaves out large segments of the population, with citizen input missing from most important issues.
Foreign Policy and the People
She gave the following example of corporate media influence on foreign policy reporting-- in the two weeks leading up to the Iraq war, there were 393 interviews and only four of them were with people from organizations opposed to the policy.
Amy Goodman went on to talk about the importance of community media. She quoted Noam Chomsky as saying that when he speaks he can tell when he is addressing an audience that has a public radio station in their town or area. Goodman said that people are shut out of being heard by the corporate owned media.
She also said that in order to be informed citizens we must keep an eye on things happening on the policy level and but on the street level as well.
Meeting the Void in Journalism
Goodman talked about Democracy Now! and its effort to meet the void in journalism in the US. She gave example after example of how important independent reporting is to the citizen understanding of the impacts of US foreign policy and other issues in our democracy, as well as the important contributions lost when corporate media does not report on citizen views.
She pointed to the work of her former intern, Jeremy Scahill and urged people to read his book and watch his movies to get a view of foreign policy missing from public discourse.
Wikipedia
Jeremy Scahill (born c. 1974) is an American investigative advocacy journalist whose work focuses largely on the U.S. government's use of private military companies. He is the author of the best-selling book Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army, which won the George Polk Book Award.[1] He also serves as a correspondent for the progressive U.S. radio and TV program Democracy Now!. Scahill is a Puffin Foundation Writing Fellow at The Nation Institute and a frequent contributor to The Nation.[2]
Goodman recounted that during 2008 conventions there were anti=war protests at both conventions. Amy shared the story behind
her arrest while trying to free a couple of her staff at a street event during the time of the Republican National Convention of 2008.She got a text that said she should leave the convention stat and come to the aid of her team. They had rushed to cover a nearby protest. When Goodman arrive she and her team were arrested and their Convention press credentials ripped from their necks by a guy they learned from the local police was with the Secret Service.
(They sued just recently got a decision and a six figure settlement.)
She told the story of how another Democracy Now! alum has become famous during the Arab Spring:
Sharif Abdel Kouddous is an Egyptian-American journalist. He attended the British International School in Cairo and left for the United States when he was eighteen years old. He attended the Duke University and obtained a degree in economics and a minor in philosophy.
Kouddous worked for Bank of America as an investment banker for two years in its leveraged buyout division. He worked for 'Democracy Now!' in 2003 as a volunteer and then as a full-time producer. He covered several prominent events for 'Democracy Now!' such as the Iraq War, Hurricane Katrina, the 2010 Haiti earthquake, and the 2011 Egyptian revolution. He shot to international fame during the 2011 Egyptian popular uprising, for his tweets and live reporting from Tahrir Square. He has written for prominent newspapers and magazines such as 'The Nation' and has appeared on television shows including MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show, The Ed Schultz Show, and Hardball with Chris Matthews. In April 2012, Kouddous was awarded the fourth annual Izzy Award for outstanding achievement in independent media.
In 2008, Kouddous was arrested in Saint Paul, Minnesota and charged with suspicion of felony riot while covering the street protests during the Republican National Convention being held there. In 2011 he moved to Egypt to cover the region for 'Democracy Now!'
Amy Goodman said he was arrested in the United States but never in Egypt.
She talked about the militarization of the police that has been ongoing in the United States in dealing with protests like Occupy Wall Street and many others .
To Embed, or Not to Embed
Amy Goodman talked about the importance of independent media as compared to msm journalists like Raddatz who have allowed themselves to be embedded. She posed the question: How can these journalists be unbiased when they are living eating traveling with soldiers on whom their lives depended? Surely, embedding would color their reporting?
Afghanistan
Goodman argues that on the anniversary of involvement in Afghanistan we should be supporting reporting to be expanded beyond embedding, with reports from the morgues, interviews with the families both here and there, pictures of the dead shown nightly on the news. The embedding of journalists in war was one of the low points in journalism because they were only getting the viewpoint of the military and they had to depend on them for their life. Instead they Should be reporting from the hospitals, morgues, out in the villages... She argues that providing more images of our foreign policy's horrible outcomes the war would been over much much sooner.
As it is, many people barely remember that the war is ongoing and that huge amounts of funds are being expended that could be used to help with huge needs here at home.
Murder by Returning Soldiers
Goodman sang the praises of Haymarket Publishers for allowing the adding of last minute chapters from segments they filmed on this tour.
One of these stops on the 100 city tour was Colorado Springs with its many bases and installations. Here is the segment.
On Afghan War 11th Anniversary, Vets Confront Mental Health Crisis, Soldier Suicides and Violence
She applauded the independent Haymarket Publishers saying what good and liberal they are for allowing they addition of that story as well as the one they did on the Sikh Temple Massacre.
As an aside she recalled the 75th anniversary of bombing of Guernica, Spain on April 26, 1937. Amy had been invited to interview a survivor of this bombing which is considered as a premier example of purposed bombing of civilians. It was market day in Guernica when the bombs dropped and this was supposedly to be an example to the Basque people (this was during the Spanish civil war). You may recall The Bombing of Guernica , one of the most famous paintings by Picasso .
During the bombing the railway station and the famous munitions factory were not bombed, and her story showed the wilfull killing of civilians to deter dissent while protecting weapons. Later the neutron bomb were developed with similar goals. (The Guernica story is included in the last chapter of the book.)
Two of the hundreds of bumper stickers plastered on a van distributing signs and other materials for the reelection of Barack Obama outside the Lensic.
She used the Guernica story to segue into a criticism of the Obama Administration's use of drones, resulting in 2% high level targets but 98% are not, now with studies showing that many more civilians being killed that was reported by the msm.
Goodman also recounted the record number of whistleblowers being prosecuted by the Administration, more than all prior admins combined?
Climate Change Reporting Missing in Corporate Media, Debates
She touted independent media for its reporting on climate change. She said that this, reporting on war, fate of the planet are all reasons why we need independent media.
Why not let the people speak?
According to Goodman, some in the media consider it dangerous because it allows people to speak for themselves in opposition to the status quo. She argued that media could help break down bigotry and stereotypes and work for the common good. Instead media is wielded as weapons of war that have to be challenged.
Corporate Media Afraid of Latinos and other Regular People?
Her current tour began with Democracy Now! reporting during the Republican and Democratic conventions, and Goodman shared an anecdote of a well know msm reporter coming up to her while she was interviewing riders as they got out of the bus for the report "No Papers, No Fear: Busload of Undocumented Immigrants Defy Risks to Bring Message to DNC" . She said reporter interrupted her interview and said 'Hey Amy, why are these people here.' Amy looked at him and asked him why didn't he ask them, they were standing right there. He said 'I don't have time, just tell me.' She said this is typical of corporate media.
Importance of Movements
She argued that the greatest hope for continuing our democracy are in movements because they can ignite the public's frustrations and promote action.
Netroots
According to Goodman, the internet is integral to getting information out to the public and we cannot let it be privatized--it must be continued so that the grassroots provides critical "trickle up journalism."
She gave as examples her reporting of current important movements --Bill McKibben and 350.org, Occupy Wall Street, and the Arab Spring . She said that movements such as these are first ignored by the media, then ridiculed, then fought but then we win.
'Journalism is the 1st draft of history'
Goodman wondered aloud at some of the legacy President Obama will leave:
>Copenhagen- climate fail
>longest war
>deportation of immigrants (largest number)
Though she offered these examples in criticism she never mentioned third party candidates. She did wonder aloud at Obama the Community Organizer now as Commander in Chief. She mentioned the importance of independent media and her coverage of the debates, voting suppression and the like.
She spoke of the value of the internet and to the public in researching these issues but stated that it was also important to check sources.
She repeated that if we showed pictures of war every week on television and public could see it would change attitudes and in policies.
"We will not be silent."
Amy concluded by saying that a 'Hippocratic Oath' for the Media should be "We will not be silent."
She then invited people to the foyer to get their books signed. She said this interaction with people was so important to Democracy Now! because so many stories they reported on originated as tips from people at events like this one.
As we left the Lensic I thought how thankful I am for Dailykos, and independent media such as Democracy Now!
Namaste.