Amy Goodman and Denis Moynihan, of Democracy Now!, were in San Diego last night on their nationwide book tour, promoting their most recent book, Democracy Now!: Twenty Years Covering the Movements Changing America. The book, now out in paperback, looks at the powerful movements and leaders who are re-shaping our world. Goodman takes the reader along as she goes to where the silence is, bringing out voices from the streets, from Ferguson to East Timor and beyond - any place where people are rising up to demand justice.
Several of the stops on the book tour doubled as fundraisers to benefit local, independent community radio stations, as well as for Democracy Now!, and such was the case for the San Diego stop. San Diego independent radio station, KNSJ, which airs Democracy Now!, partnered with Activist San Diego to bring Amy to town and raise money for the station. The sold-out event was standing room only.
Goodman gave an inspiring talk, discussing the history of Democracy Now!, the events they have covered, and the essential role media plays in a democratic society. She spent some time talking about the Standing Rock protests, and her experiences covering events in North Dakota. Goodman won the Society for Professional Journalists Sigma Delta Chi Award for Television Breaking News Coverage this year for Democracy Now!’s coverage of the protests at Standing Rock and the Dakota Pipeline. That story showed protesters being set upon by dogs, let loose by authorities in order to stop them.
Goodman spoke enthusiastically about how crucial independent media is, and emphasized how critical it is that all media question power, not cover for power. Goodman said, "Media has to hold those in power accountable. There's a reason why journalism is the only profession explicitly protected by the U.S. constitution - it's because we are supposed to be the check and balance on power, and we need to operate that way. We need a media that covers power, not covers FOR power. We need a media that is the fourth estate, not for the state. What we need the media to give us is criticism, opposition, and unwanted interference."
Additional information here:
http://sandiegoliteraryscene.blogspot.com/2017/05/amy-goodman-of-democracy-now-will-be.html
https://www.democracynow.org/
http://knsj.org/
http://www.activistsandiego.org/Labels: Celebrity Author
