Amy Goodman (born April 13,
1957) is an
American broadcast journalist, syndicated columnist, investigative reporter and author. Goodman is the host of
Democracy Now!, an independent global news program broadcast daily on radio, television and the
Internet.
In
1991, covering the
East Timor independence movement, Goodman and fellow journalist
Allan Nairn reported that they were badly beaten by
Indonesian soldiers after witnessing a mass killing of Timorese demonstrators in what became known as the
Santa Cruz Massacre.
In
1998, Goodman and journalist
Jeremy Scahill documented
Chevron Corporation's role in a confrontation between the
Nigerian Army and villagers who had seized oil rigs and other equipment belonging to oil corporations. Two villagers were shot and killed during the standoff. On May 28, 1998, the company provided helicopter transport to the
Nigerian Navy and
Mobile Police (MOPOL) to their Parabe oil platform which had been occupied by villagers who accused the company of contaminating their land.
Soon after landing, the
Nigerian military shot and killed two of the protesters,
Jola Ogungbeje and Aroleka Irowaninu, and wounded 11 others.
Chevron spokesperson
Sola Omole acknowledged that the company transported the troops, and that use of troops was at the request of Chevron's management. The documentary, "
Drilling and Killing: Chevron and
Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship", won the
George Polk Award in 1998.
Michael Delli
Carpini, dean of the
Annenberg School for Communication, said, "She's not an editorialist. She sticks to the facts
... She provides points of view that make you think, and she comes at it by saying: '
Who are we not hearing from in the traditional media?'"
Goodman had been news director of
Pacifica Radio station
WBAI in
New York City for over a decade when she co-founded Democracy Now!
The War and
Peace Report in
1996. Since then, Democracy Now! has been called "probably the most significant progressive news institution that has come around in some time" by professor and media critic
Robert McChesney.
In
2001, the show was temporarily pulled off the air, as a result of a conflict with a group of Pacifica Radio board members and
Pacifica staff members and listeners. During that time, it moved to a converted firehouse from which it broadcast until
November 13, 2009. Democracy Now! subsequently moved to a studio located in the
Chelsea neighborhood of
Manhattan.
Goodman credits the program's success to the mainstream media organizations who leave "a huge niche" for Democracy Now!
When
President Bill Clinton called WBAI on
Election Day 2000 for a quick get-out-the-vote message, Goodman and WBAI's
Gonzalo Aburto challenged him for 28 minutes with questions about
Leonard Peltier, racial profiling, the
Iraq sanctions,
Ralph Nader, the death penalty, the
North American Free Trade Agreement (
NAFTA), and the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Clinton defended his administration's policies and charged Goodman with being "hostile and combative".
In
2006, Goodman narrated the film
One Bright Shining Moment:
The Forgotten Summer of George McGovern. Directed by
Stephen Vittoria, the documentary chronicles the life and times of
George McGovern, focusing on his failed
1972 bid for the presidency. The film features McGovern,
Gloria Steinem,
Gore Vidal,
Warren Beatty,
Howard Zinn,
Ron Kovic, and
Dick Gregory. The film won the
Sarasota Film Festival's award for "
Best Documentary Feature."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_goodman
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- published: 23 Aug 2013
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