Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! stopped by a Cleveland bookstore en route to completing the 100-city tour she and DN! special projects manager Denis Moynihan are promoting.
Her talk spanned the news program’s 16-year history, with stories from recent assignments at the Democratic and Republican national conventions.
To be honest, her take on journalism’s role in society was so enthralling that I didn’t take many notes. But in saying that the press should be a sanctuary for dissent, Goodman reiterated the often forgotten notion that journalists perform a very specific and important function. They remain separate from the powers that be, shedding light on what those powers do when they think they’re behind closed doors.
Well, that’s true every now and then. It’s true enough, however, that DN! represents a departure from much of the corporate-backed media that so often dominate readers’ media diets.
And that brings to mind a final thought for the day. I spoke at the Cleveland Salon this past weekend as part of a conversation on the local news media. I questioned participants to analyze their own media diets and seek to understand more fully where their news is coming from.
In reality, I was preaching to the choir. The group comprised educated, media-savvy professionals from the Cleveland area. But it’s still an important point to ponder, whether one is tuning into Goodman’s DN! broadcasts or curating a list of news websites via Twitter, etc.
Sandy 