AMY GOODMAN: A champion for progress
Amy Goodman is a trailblazer in the realm of independent media, shining light on the dissent that mainstream programming all too often excludes. While her colleagues describe her as “informed, committed [and] passionate (Danny Schechter),” she works tirelessly to defend the unheard voices of our turbulent democracy. Amy Goodman is the embodiment of an altruistic public intellectual, being a sophisticated journalist, a New York Times best selling author and a pioneer for independent media. Moreover, her role as a public intellectual poses her with the challenges of struggling to be heard but never giving up on “going where the silence is (Goodman).”
Goodman’s understanding of humankind is far reaching. She graduated from Harvard with a degree in Anthropology, continuing a journalism career abroad, and reporting on some of the greatest injustices of our time. She displays her true commitment to reporting on the stories that are often overlooked. Two of her many landmark investigations include the an investigative documentary on Chevron’s involvement in the killing of two Nigerian protesters during an occupation in the Niger Delta and her brave reporting of the massacre in the Santa Cruz cemetery on the killings of East Timor civilians by the U.S. backed Indonesian military. Both of these investigations were productions of Democracy Now!, an independent new program founded, executive produced, and hosted by Amy Goodman herself. The importance in truthful and purposeful reporting that is the mission of Democracy Now! will be discussed later on. First, we take a look into Goodman’s work in the Niger Delta. In 1998, Goodman and other journalists traveled to the Niger Delta to report on the crimes against humanity that the oil giant Chevron was committing. Chevron had occupied oil fields in the region and was exploiting the native labor and destroying the environment. Goodman and her team exposed that during a protest where villagers were occupying the oil fields, “Chevron authorized the call for the military and transported the navy to the barge. On top of that, Chevron’s acting head of security, James Neku, flew in with the military the day of the attack (Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria’s Oil Dictatorship).” Not until 10 years later was the trial against Chevron actually heard in a San Francisco district court, “Chevron is being sued under the Alien Tort Claims Act, which allows foreign nationals to take legal action over crimes against them overseas (Goodman, Democracy Now!).” She has tracked this story for a decade, and rightfully so, it being her own work in the documentary film Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria’s Oil Dictatorship; the film won the George Polk Award for radio reporting, the Project Censored award, and the Lowell Thomas Award from the Overseas Press Club, which it refused. Unfortunately, and much like most of her work, the story didn’t get much attention in the mainstream. The film is not even noted in the largest online movie database, IMDB. Her pursuit to expose injustices in exploited nations and minority voices has not ceased. Goodman’s most heroic work was her reporting on the military occupation in East Timor, Dili. Goodman and her colleague Allan Nairn were literally in the line of fire when the Indonesian Military mercilessly opened fire on hundreds of civilians in a Timorese cemetery. She describes the moment in the documentary film Massacre: The Story of East Timor:
“A group of soldiers grabbed my microphone and threw me to the ground, kicking and punching me. At that point, Allan threw himself on top of me, protecting me from further injury. The soldiers then used their rifle butts like baseball bats, beating Allan until they fractured his skull. As we sat on the ground, Allan, covered in blood, a group of soldiers lined up and pointed their M-16s at our heads. They had stripped us of all of our equipment. We just kept shouting, "We’re from America!" In the end, they decided not to execute us.”
Amy and her colleague suffered the beating in the interest of the story. Her commitment to justice around the world is unwavering in the face of threats against her own safety. She recounts this moment to reporters in Guam after they fled to safety, on the verge of tears and a shaky voice, but not from her own trauma, but for that of the innocent people that were killed that day in East Timor. She possesses an unshakeable empathy and her altruism is admirable in the face of adversity.
Unlike your everyday talking heads and corporate media puppets, Amy Goodman has faced legal action in her a few of her domestic reports. She pushes the limits for a story, making genuine, truthful journalism her mission. But in the continued pursuit to preserve independent media, she’s faced pushback on multiple occasions, threatening hers, and others, constitutional right to freedom of press. In September 2008, Goodman and her crew were reporting from the Republican National Convention in Saint Paul Minnesota on an anti-poverty protest that was rallying around the convention hall. In a free press zone -- and ultimately just doing her job -- she was pestered and ultimately arrested by police, along with her two producers. Not just any police; but a fully equipped riot team. Goodman and her producers ultimately filed a lawsuit against the Saint Paul Police department, Ramsey County Police and the United States secret service, who allegedly stripped Goodman of her press credentials in order to arrest her. “Well, three years later, we have reached a major settlement in the case that includes $100,000 in compensation paid by the St. Paul and Minneapolis Police Departments and the Secret Service. The settlement also includes an agreement by the St. Paul Police Department to implement a training program aimed at educating officers regarding the First Amendment rights of the press and public with respect to police operations, including proper procedures for dealing with the press covering demonstrations (Goodman, Democracy Now!).” But this would not be her last run in with the law. As of lately, hundreds of Native Americans have created an encampment to occupy locations along the potential Dakota Access Pipeline. It’s no surprise that in an effort to elevate the muffled voices of the minorities and defend environmental rights, Democracy Now! made an appearance to report on these injustices. After the Goodman aired the report on her program, a warrant was set out for her arrest. "This is an unacceptable violation of freedom of the press, I was doing my job by covering pipeline guards unleashing dogs and pepper spray on Native American protesters (Goodman).” Her work has been critical, passionate, and unstoppable. As an intellectual and a defender of independent media, Amy Goodman works tirelessly and humbly to stay heard.
Amy is subtle, yet admirably passionate about her work. With a strong presence in progressive media, she has many fans and likely just as many critics. "What Amy's doing is trying to recreate a democratic society where you have varied, independent perspectives on the world," says Noam Chomsky. A former crew member of her show Democracy Now! writes:
“Goodman also has her critics–people who have clashed with her strongly held opinions or had the misfortune of being on the opposing side of a debate. Others find her brand of journalism too "ideological," too "reflexively left." "Before she went to Democracy Now! she did some very good pieces for NPR," says John Dinges, a former editorial director of National Public Radio and a professor at Columbia Journalism School. "But at some point she became more of an advocate than we were comfortable with” (Lizzy Ratner, thenation.com).
Anyone in the public sphere will face criticism or obstacles, but that has never stopped her from being a powerful voice in the media.
Although her journalistic history is rich with great work in the face of corporate media undertaking, her voice in the public intellectual sphere is not as far reaching as it should be. She might have not necessarily been complaining outright about this fact, but Goodman’s main platform, Pacifica Radio, struggles with debt, funding, and listener retention. “Many of the financial problems - regardless of who is to blame - stem from Pacifica's dwindling listenership and the corresponding decrease in fundraising. LA Weekly reported that, according to Nielson Audio, ‘during an average 15-minute period, just 700 people listen to its Los Angeles station, 90.7 FM KPFK’ (Corcoran, truth-out.org).” Like an good public intellectual, Goodman is committed to her cause and refuses to sell out to corporate media. Amy Goodman is the founder, executive producer and host of “Democracy Now!” which airs on Pacifica radio and other affiliate stations. “Democracy Now!” is notably the most popular program on Pacifica due to Amy’s journalistic prowess and genuine content. But an investigation by truth-out.org revealed that Pacifica is in debt to the show, incapable of supporting it’s necessary budget. The show still goes on, but not without excessive fund-drives interrupting valuable programming. But Goodman’s commitment to the intellectual sphere is apparent. Goodman continues to help fundraise for all of the Pacifica channels and “[o]n the 60th anniversary of Pacifica, [she] argued that Pacifica is a ‘sanctuary of dissent’ and vital to ‘the tradition of dissent and the power of diverse voices to resolve conflict peacefully’ (Corcoran).” She does have an obvious distaste for corporate media, “all we get is more static: that veil of distortions, lies, misrepresentations and half-truths that obscures reality. What we need the media to give us is the dictionary definition of static: criticism, opposition, unwanted interference. We need a media that covers power, not covers for power (Goodman, truthdig.com).” She is likely offended and frustrated that her spirited work goes unheard among the cacophony of the 24 hour news cycle feeding frenzy. She would likely be in overwhelming agreeance with Stephen Mack in that “the public intellectual function is criticism.” Her belief of her role as a journalist and public intellectual ring almost in unison to the ideas of Mack, “[t]rained to it or not, all participants in self-government are duty-bound to prod, poke, and pester the powerful institutions that would shape their lives.” Goodman has spent decades doing what she does best, serving as a “kind of human megaphone for the collective progressive unconscious (Ratner, thenation.com),” challenging institutions that conform us and keep us in line. Even if she only has 700 people listening, or her cameras and tapes get seized, or her network struggles to stay afloat, her presence in the intellectual sphere is far more than important; it’s essential.
"Amy Goodman." ArticleBio. Creative Commons License, Dec. 2014. Web. 10 Sept. 2016.
Corcoran, Michael. "Crises at Pacifica Radio." Truthout. Truthout, 31 Jan. 2015. Web. 8 Sept. 2016.
Goodman, Amy, and Allan Nairn. "Amy Goodman Recounts the East Timor Massacre 15 Years Ago." Democracy Now! Democracynow.org, 13 Nov. 2006. Web. 10 Sept. 2016.
Goodman, Amy. "Drilling and Killing: Landmark Trial Against Chevron Begins Over Its Role in the Niger Delta." Democracy Now! Democracynow.org, 28 Oct. 2008. Web. 10 Sept. 2016.
Goodman, Amy. "Pacifica Radio at 60: A Sanctuary of Dissent: Amy Goodman." Truthdig Main News. King Features Syndicate, 06 June 2013. Web. 8 Sept. 2016.
Goodman, Amy. "Settlement Reached over Arrest of Amy Goodman, Democracy Now! Producers at 2008 GOP Convention." Democracy Now! Democracynow.org, 3 Oct. 2011. Web. 10 Sept. 2016.
Mack, Stephen. "The Supposed Decline of the Public Intellectual." The New Democratic Review. Movable Type, 24 Aug. 2016. Web. 6 Sept. 2016.
Ratner, Lizzy. "Amy Goodman’s ‘Empire’." The Nation. The Nation, 29 June 2015. Web. 10 Sept. 2016.
Shetterly, Robert. "Amy Goodman." Americans Who Tell The Truth. Portraits and Biographies, n.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2016.
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