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Leaders and Champions of Alternative Media
With the rash of newspaper closings and the gobbling up of news outlets by corporate interests, it might appear to be a good time for graduating college students to select "corrupt politician" as their career choice.
Amy Goodman: Independent Media center will fete host of Democracy Now! next Tuesday at Ithaca’s State Theatre.
It's enough to make one wonder who will be minding the store if the
papers that make it their business to poke into the dark corners of
government and commerce find themselves turning out the lights.
But according to an Ithaca-based expert on alternative media, the much advertised decline in print publications is being offset by the rise of a robust muckraking alternative. Jeff Cohen, a longtime media watchdog and director of Ithaca College's Park Center for Independent Media, believes that the alternative media has grown up to the point when it needs to officially recognize its leaders and champions.
The newly founded Park Center has announced the winners of its first annual Izzy Award, named for the iconoclastic muckraking journalist I.F. Stone, who died in 1989 after six decades of afflicting the comfortable with his prescient questioning and vivid prose. This year's winners are Amy Goodman of Democracy Now!, and Glenn Greenwald, an independent blogger whose work appears at Salon.com.
The Park Center studies media outlets "that create and distribute content outside traditional corporate systems and news organizations." According to Cohen, the center's founding director, "Our purpose is to bring attention to the growing sector of independent media. Independent media is breaking stories, and bringing down corrupt officials around the country. We needed an award and we couldn't think of anyone better to name it after than a guy who, in the depth of the anti-communist frenzy of the 1950s, started his own weekly newsletter."
The award is named for Isidor Feinstein "Izzy" Stone, who belonged to the era before the term "media" was canned and learned the craft without the benefit of journalism school. He called himself a newspaperman and relished the role of outside critic of the powers that be. His credo was simple: "All governments are run by liars" and his list of subscribers (the weekly accepted no ads) grew to 22,000, including the likes of Albert Einstein.
"The center's mission," according to Cohen, "is to engage media makers and students in conversation about career paths in independent media, and financially viable ways to create news and information for various kinds of geographic or issue-based communities. We examine the impact of independent media institutions on journalism, democracy and a participatory culture."
Cohen added that one of the inaugural prizewinners exemplifies the potential of alternative media. The prolific Glenn Greenwald was a constitutional lawyer working in New York when he began blogging in 2005. An early supporter of the war in Afghanistan who had taken no position on the invasion of Iraq, Greenwald became alarmed as he saw the George W. Bush administration disregarding civil liberties provisions to govern in the post-9/11 period. "Nobody knows civil liberties like Glenn," said Cohen.
Greenwald wrote and self-published the books How Would a Patriot Act? Defending American Values from a President Run Amok (May 2006) followed by A Tragic Legacy (June 2007), which examines the fallout of the Bush presidency. Both books rode a groundswell of Web enthusiasts to a place on The New York Times bestseller lists. His latest book, Great American Hypocrites: Toppling the Big Myths of Republican Politics (Random House/Crown, 2008), examines manipulative electoral tactics used by the GOP and accepted by the mainstream press. Greenwald's blog "Unclaimed Territory" can now be seen on Salon.com, although he contends that he maintains full editorial control.
Amy Goodman has been a pioneer in alternative media since the early 1980s. In its release announcing her as the co-recipient of this year's award, the Park Center called her radio program Democracy Now! the largest public media collaboration in the country.
Democracy Now! offers a cutting-edge broadcast featuring issues, experts and debates rarely heard in corporate media, including the voices of both policymakers and those affected by policy. It remains independent of any party or sponsor, in the I.F. Stone tradition."
Goodman will be remembered by many as the reporter arrested by St. Paul, Minn., police outside last August's Republican National Convention when she went to the aid of two of her producers as they were being hauled away by local police outside the convention center.
Democracy Now! can be found online at www.democracynow.org, and heard locally (if you're lucky) on Syracuse Community Radio's WXXE-FM 90.5, weekdays at 5 p.m. The TV series airs Saturdays, 9 to 11 a.m., on Time Warner Cable's Channel 98.
Amid the gloom in the newspaper business, Cohen finds hope. "No doubt the Internet has caused upheaval and hardship in journalism," he said, "but it has helped independents to bring their work to a broader audience. The good news is that we had a tough decision because there is so much exciting work going on in alternative journalism."
The award ceremony, featuring Goodman and Greenwald, will take place at Ithaca's State Theatre, 107 W. State St., on Tuesday, March 31, 7 p.m. Admission is free. For more information on the award, call (607) 274-1330 or visit www.ithaca.edu/indy.
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38 Comments so far
Show AllGreat choices. Congratulations to the recipients for so many years of hard work and service, investigating and bringing us trustworthy information.
Joe
I second that Joe.....
Goodman is a CHAMPION !!!
Think of all the millions of people who might not be there in body but sure as the dickens send a whoop and holler of celebration and thanks for Amy Goodman and Glen Greenwald!!
We love ya!
There is a radio show called This Is Hell! which airs at 9:00 a.m. central time, or thereabouts every Saturday morning. The show originates from Northwestern University in Evanston, Il and is four hours long (except when pre-empted for a sporting event - usually football). They have long form interviews with many of the guests who have appeared on Democracy Now and have written articles that have appeared on this site. All the shows are archived on their website - thisishell.com, so you can peruse past shows as well as pick up the live stream on Saturday. The radio station that airs This Is Hell! is WNUR 89.3 in Evanston.
Thanks for that website "this is hell.com"
odoco
Amy and Glenn are truly the voice of what this country should be. Congratulations, and know that your voices and strength give us all soul nourishment each and every day you continue to broadcast truly objectified commentary and analysis.
Congratulations Amy and Glenn. Two of the best independent journalists we have. Watch Democracy Now!, and read Salon.com.
Amy Goodman is unparalleled in her attempt to present an alternate (and more realistic), independent media. Pacifica's Democracy Now is easily the voice of the 'alternate' media.
While we heap deserved praise on Amy we should not forget the hosts of KPFA in the Bay Area (Bensky, Bernstein, Chatterjee, Welch im sure im missing some). KPFA has carried the torch of resistance for a generation and a lot of us in the Bay Area cut our teeth listening, imbibing and participating in all things KPFA.
This may come across like a fart in church, but I wish some fearless investigative journalists would focus their laser-like attention on why Amy G. and Noam C., among others, still cling to the official story about 9/11.
Would you like to share some of your conspiracy theories?
ae911truth.org
Excuse me, I absolutely have no right telling anyone what they should or shouldn't be interested in, or asking them to let something go, as it isn't helping much....
....but...I've heard this over and over: From my experience in activism, the 9-11'ers, whether they are on to something true or not, almost always imply by their looks, words, and actions that talking and working for ending starvation and economic injustice around the world (injustice which leads to tension and unbalance, which leads to terrorism) is not so important... or that fighting for the future and working with common sense and vision in the HERE and NOW, more than bringing up information on past events which cannot be proven so easily, is not so big a deal.
What I'm saying is, doesn't it seem a little rediculous to dismiss efforts of all the noble people and movements trying to right the wrongs of government and society which would lead to transparency and much less corruption in the near future....rather than pass out bumper stickers and leaflets saying "Know the truth -they did it! Charge them with crimes!", etc...?
A bumper sticker saying 9-11 Truth doesn't mean nearly as much to most average intelligent people as a bumper sticker saying "Fight Poverty, Not People", for example.
Again I respect your interests. Just hoping you're not ignoring the more important and treatable issues of today.
Again, Jethro, I'm sorry if this sounds personally critical...this was not aimed at you, specifically. More of a general comment.
I was thinking of a specific video I saw where Amy is addressing a crowd and some guy beligerantly (sp?) starts shouting and cussing out Amy for not talking about 9-11! Amy has an amazingly difficult job, and should never be criticized for not using her air time on 9-11 conspiracies. I think she could easily create a very interesting program looking into the lack of extra-terrestrial disclosure over the past 50 years, and its ties to large private defense/research corporations...but I would NEVER attack her for NOT doing it. In fact, she may be interested herself for all I know, but her show is designed for a certain set of topics, so I'd competely understand.
I digress, but the same old things get brought up in these forums so I figured I'd insert something new.
re global_commoner March 26th, 2009 1:48 pm
I'm second to none in my admiration for Amy G. Her physical courage, as demonstrated in East Timor with her colleague Allan Nairn, as well as her moral courage, on display in her unscheduled interview with Bill Clinton, are exemplary. Also, you're right about the range of her work and its import for us at large.
All the more reason, then, for my perplexity at this enormous blind spot regarding the events of 9/11. It's uncharacteristic, even contradictory, and it's by poking at contradictions that larger truths are sometimes revealed.
As I sat glued to the radio that morning (hers was the only signal not knocked off the air by the collapse of the towers), I was reassured by a voice I trusted, improvising from her broadcast location near Ground Zero. Some time in early October, after reading an article in the Wall Street Journal about a statistically-significant spike in short-selling of airline and insurance company stocks in the weeks leading up to 9/11 (which strongly suggested foreknowledge), I emailed Amy about this promising line of inquiry. The story sank without a ripple, and she has not spoken of it since, except off-handedly to lend credence to the official explanation.
I'm not consumed by it---yes, I have a life---but my doubts are unassuaged, just as they were after the publication of the Warren Commission report (JFK), and the Tower Commission report (Iran-Contra), and the report on the crash of Paul Wellstone's plane, etc., etc., etc. It's like the dog who wouldn't bark---I want to know why.
DemNow hosted a debate with the creators of the Loose Change film and its detractors. She did cover the issue more than most. I think rather than chasing something that will never be pinned on any US officials she spent time on realistic, reachable issues like trying deserving people of war crimes and clear cut corruption, deaths of innocents in Iraq and Palestine.
While most news organizations, even NPR (!) are concerned with one story of celebrity abuse DemNow has indepth coverage of important news stories that would otherwise barely see the light of day. She does cover alot of ground each week!
Excuse me, but I get the impression that you aren't really respecting Jethro T's interests when you end with, "just hoping you're not ignoring the more important and treatable issues of today. It suggests the "kindly dismissive" tone of someone talking down to a child. I think you probably mean well, but this is exactly one of the things that becomes so infuriating to 9-11 truth advocates. Thank you for trying not to be insulting, at least. There are many others, even some of my own 'friends' who are not as 'kindly'. When you say "...the 9-11ers...almost always imply by their looks, words and actions that talking and working for ending starvation and economic injustice around the world...is not so important...", is this--or is it not, possibly your own projection on the relevance of 9-11 being an inside job? Well, of course it is, because you've made it pretty clear that you're tired of hearing about it. Nothing can be done about it, can it? I may be wrong, but I don't think so--you have basically settled for some version of the Official Story. Your rationale about focussing on the "HERE and NOW" is the same as the Obama/Pelosi/et. al. mantra of looking forward, not back. They had a difficult time seeing any impeachable offences of the Bush Administration. Of course, that's all in the past as well. Even Noam Chomsky finally said in response to the 9-11 question, "So what?"(not to suggest that Chomsky is coming from the same level or vantage point as Obama or Pelosi) This is an attitude that really eats at me. I have felt a bit uncomfortable a few times when I've seen a 9-11 truther get rude and hostile, but it's something I can understand. I have many of the same feelings when confronted with the notion that "it's no big deal". Why not have two bumper stickers, 9-11 TRUTH and Fight Poverty, Not People?? (Maybe add the "Whirled Peas", too.) The only reason 9-11 Truth doesn't resonate with "most intelligent people" is because, for whatever reason most of those people haven't looked into the issue. It's threatening to take it seriously. It can precipitate an existential dilemma. The terrorists responsible for 9-11 may be the products of "tension and imbalance", but they are certainly not the products of economic injustice--they are certainly not starving--they are the PURVEYORS of economic injustice and hunger. For them, control of food is the weapon. Gaining total control of a population through economic collapse is the weapon. Gaining total control through fear is the weapon. But let's not waste time with 9-11. It's so yesterday. There are committee meetings and candlelight vigils to attend. We'll plan ways to feed the children while their killers get a free pass.
I hope Jethro Tullmore was able to make it clear to you that 9-11 Truth advocates aren't necessarily trashing the good work that people such as Goodman, Chomsky, Greenwald, Sirota, etc. do, but is silence or outright denial about 9-11 helping or hurting? To whatever degree, they have a certain investment in the system which does influence in some way the boundaries of their expression. But there is change that one can hope for. How can we shout "Yes, We Can!" and be content to slog through the stench still flowing freely from 9-11? 9-11 was an inside job, and don't be surprised if there happens to be another false-flag incident to get us in line at some point in the economic meltdown. The fascists are going for broke.
Not to be missed of course is the point that so many of these "other" problems that Goodman, Chomsky and other leftists rightly address have been greatly exacerbated by the post-911 power configuration, and thus not to look at the event that precipated this new arrangement of domestic and global politics is not to see the forest for the trees...
Well said, thanks.
Thanks, I'll check it out.
Move On is the name of a familiar organization. Perhaps it's time to get the hint and move on. Sure, we know that official 9/11 stinks, but nothing is going to be done about it, not now, perhaps not ever. And sure we know the corruption of the Bush administration, but nothing will be done about it, unless you want to hire assassins. Just get on with it!
It's fairly obvious that Move On has indeed accomplished its mission with a significant number of Democrats. Meanwhile, George Soros is making a financial killing from our economic 9-11. Hint, hint.
I am soooooo grateful to independent news outlets like Democracy Now! for being a credible source of news and information I need to navigate my journey in life!! AMY, JUAN and the staff at DN! R O C K S !!!!!
KUDOS INEPENDENT MEDIA SOURCES!!!!
I second that!!!
Dear Amy:
Thank you for being such a bright light in the darkness. Women like you are the ones we all need to be following if we are to make it to the other side. Yes, it is time for women to lead.
Yes, and when do the failing newspapers and entertainment evening news become "alternative," and Democracy Now simply "the media."
[ _____ T h e _ H y s t e r o i d a l _ C y c l e _____ ] ___ PART I I ___
"Having arrived at the very top of the wheel of fortune, many people forget that, without evolutionary transformation to another level, it is a wheel, and there's nowhere to go but down. Here are the bare bones of the hysteroidal cycle with specific emphasis on the mental processes involved.
1. • The search for truth reveals "inconvenient", that is, morally embarrassing facts. For example, Christian slaveholders being reminded that holding slaves was not a very Christian activity; or otherwise unprejudiced Americans being informed that their tax dollars are being spent for racist goals, that is, to ethnically cleanse the Palestinians from the land coveted by Zionists. Hedonistic societies repress the fact that they profit on the suffering of others.
2. • At first, when morally embarrassing facts are encountered, they are consciously avoided. For example, the subject is suddenly changed; or a discussion is tabled or concluded without going any further into the matter
3. • When the avoidance of morally embarrassing facts is done frequently enough, it ceases to be a conscious process and gets relegated to the subconscious; that is, it becomes a habit.
4. • The habit of avoiding morally embarrassing facts is a contagious one. It becomes a socially accepted habit, the "in" thing to do. "The 'very best people' never discuss such things, and certainly not in public," is a sentiment expressed innumerable times in the nineteenth century. Lobaczewski points out that Kaiser Wilhelm I had a brain trauma at birth, and numerous physical and psychological handicaps which were so completely concealed from the German people, that, for example, it is almost impossible to find a photograph of this emperor with his badly withered arm visible.
5. • Reasoning to draw valid conclusions becomes impossible because of the gaps left by the suppressed "inconvenient" facts. The subconscious compensates by substituting morally less embarrassing "premises" so as to be able to continue to draw conclusions, although the conclusions now drawn are, necessarily, false. This is the chronic avoidance of the crux of the matter.
6. • People grow perceptibly more egotistic, and the society as a whole more emotional and hysterical. There is a great deal of confusion about values and such societies grow to be seen as arrogant and hedonistic.
7. • When the deviation from reality becomes great enough, the person or the society becomes pathological, and murder sprees or senseless world wars and bloody revolutions are in the offing.
In short, during good times, moral, intellectual and personality values devolve to the point where a society is ripe for manipulation by snake-charmers and con-men of Rasputin-like charisma. Individuals become emotionally volatile, egotistical, and intolerant of other cultures. The resulting suffering necessitate great mental and physical strength to fight for existence and human reason. Slowly, what has been lost is relearned. Difficult times give rise to the values necessary to conquer evil and produce better times."
Namaste
You make excellent points.
In answer to those who ask "What are people willing to do rather then just sit around and TALK about the issues"? it important to realize how meaningful discussion is.
The memes of "socialism is Evil" and "Capitalism is the best economic system" and "The USA believes in Human rights, freedom and Liberty" are all out there NOT because they true or that there concrete evidence of such.
They are out there because those memes have been repeated over and over again until they become accepted as truth.
Yes we REPEAT the very things some of these authors right about in our comments sections, but that hardly means that repitition has no value.
[ _____ T h e _ H y s t e r o i d a l _ C y c l e _____ ] ___ P A R T _ I ___
1. Yes we all have to "chose our battles".
2. The battle for _ 9 _ ! _ ! _ truth is so titanically explosive, that even Amy and other's have decided to retreat on this -- in order to take up the good fight on other issues of more " popular " import. We are in a gradual awakening period, and people have been very asleep
3. Perhaps at very core of all of our troubles is a profoundly rotten criminal enterprise, previously known as the Mafia -- now widely understood to be the CIA pathocracy, rapacious corporapists, and banksters.
4. Prevalent wisdom is that the American people must first become aware of the despicable depth of the rot, and demonstrate their willingness to throw off their blinders to understanding -- prior to any coordinated media releases of the real truth.
5. In a similar vein, the elitist powermongers maintain a PSYOPS balance through their 99% control of the jcka$$ $ewer Main $tream Media -- to counter this awakening, with propaganda, assassinations, and offers that people cannot refuse.
* * * http://tinyurl.com/Bring-on-the-summer-of-rage * * *
"6. We're the ants in their garden. We're little more than meaningless blobs on a monitor. The bacteria in their stools. Politicians [ and banksters ] have nothing but contempt for us. "
7. "Thing is, they could get away with this bullshit while times were good, while people were comfortable enough to ignore what was happening..."
Which sounds very much like the process described by Andrew Lobaczewski in his book Political Ponerology - A Science on the Nature of Evil Adjusted for Political Purposes:
[ _____ T h e _ H y s t e r o i d a l _ C y c l e _____ ]
"In the search for a good life, humanity first used the power of animals, then turned to exploiting their fellow humans. In such a way, the seeds of suffering and inequality can be found in our hedonistic pursuit of "happiness". In this way good times give birth to bad times. The knowledge learned by the suffering in bad times leads to the creation of good times, and the cycle repeats.
When a society is hedonistic and the times are "good", the perception of the truth about the real environment, and in particular, the understanding of what a healthy human personality is and how such personalities are nurtured, ceases first of all to be the highest social priority, then ceases to be generally understood, and finally ceases even to be remembered as a part of the inventory of human knowledge.
Understanding and accumulation of knowledge may seem to be a "done deal" (e.g., The "There's nothing left to be discovered in physics" pronouncements at the end of the nineteenth century or "We are the end result and final goal of evolution"). The search for truth is then considered to be a pointless activity for the very reason that the times are good. This, unfortunately, is a confusion of the effect (the good times) with the cause (the dedicated effort to understand and the reality-matching social organizations created by that understanding which brought the good times into being). In-depth understanding may become "unfashionable" or even despised. For example, studious upper class Victorian youths were labeled "grinds"; today in America, such studious ones might be advised to "get a life." "
I love Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzales.
Great story. I include COMMONDREAMS in my short list of outstanding media sources. I wake up to DN every week day and read CD at noon. We need to keep expanding the audience!
This morning, as occasionally happens on her program, Amy had to struggle through a bad coughing fit while reading a story. Other times, she carried on the regular morning program with bad larnyxitis or a bad cold.
I that led me to thinking: why do I never as much as hear a clearing of a throat on MSM TV or radio news programs? Is there some kind of super-strength cough supressant that people like Bob Edwards, Jim Lerher, Katie Couric, Rush Limbaugh or the local 6 O'clock news bunch take?
---USAn---
I love Amy- congratulations and keep on with your great work
Over the years, Amy has interviewed everyone from radical lawyer Lynne Stewart, Mumia Abu Jamal, to Pres. Rafael Correa, and even Angela Davis.
Amy brought national attention to the Jena Six case, and has even denounce the Columbia School of Journalism.
We need more Amy Goodmans to counter the war against responsible journalism being waged by FOX News and other such sources--especially given the current state of the newspapers.
I generally support Amy Goodman. Nonetheless... I am suspicious. Old Coyote Knose... that NPR is really "National Propagan-duh Radio" giving us $oft newes (recorded tapes) in lieu the news. Big media is big media. The $tatus quo is the $tatus quo! It does NOT matter if it's left or right. The media is NOT to be complete-lie trusted... not even Amy Goodman. There IS an agenda... which is not quite as bad as an agen-duh (Jeeeeeeeeeass radio).
And now... back to your reg-ewe-liar programing of '$oap Opra'... and pro-$ports... and toxic talk $hit radio promulgating the bombastic palaver of Mr. Oxycontin (a.k.a.: Rushit!).
Hey dittoheads! Have ewe folks guzzled your corn syrup sugar pop water today? There's nuthin' like a glass of aspartane with a slice of Pizza $mut... just down the road from Taco $mell.
One of the things I always liked about DN is how the program will often have moderated exchanges between two people of widely-differing points of view on a given topic. I feel as though this airing of these differing points of view allows the listener to be able to put an issue into a better perspective. I also have the impression that Amy is a person who possesses uncommon passion and energy in getting stories the exposure they deserve.
An issue touched upon in the comments here has been the availability of DN itself. It's available on some FM stations in select areas, and of course there is the podcast available at their website. However, what about those large unserved/underserved regions where internet service is lacking, and indy FM is non-existent? Up until 2003, there was a shortwave station called Radio For Peace International. This station was wonderful for me because I lived in one of those underserved areas; they carried DN and some other great programs, too. A change in the upper-echelon at the University for Peace in Costa Rica, however, kicked the station out of their facility and off of the air. I felt as though this was a real loss for vast regions that had little in the way of good news alternatives outside of the MSM.
With all the whores in the MSM, Amy is like an antidote to this miasma of the airways.