General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Gotta love Amy Goodman and Democracy Now! ....... [View all]tuhaybey
(76 posts)Let me put it this way. I was there for the first day and thought everything was surprisingly chill and amicable. Then the second day I couldn't head down there until after work, so I listened to her broadcast at work. I was totally shocked to hear what was going on there. I couldn't believe that the calm, peaceful, protest I had been at the day before had somehow descended into that kind of chaos and violence. I was torn about whether it would be a bad idea to head down there given how bad it apparently was. It was one of those times in life that you need to pull together your courage. Then I got there and nope, same as the first day. A cop was dancing with a big puppet, a DJ was playing, no problems...
It wasn't like she was just totally fabricating things I guess. It was more the tone. Like a cop would be standing beside his horse holding his baton down at his side negotiating with a protester about how if they would just back up 15 feet, he'd let them stay there or whatever and they'd agree, begrudgingly, to back up 15 feet... Then she'd report in a frantic voice that the police were driving the protesters back with batons and horses and talk about how she wasn't sure whether she would be able to hold her position, but then would decide to risk it and stay so that she could keep her listeners informed as long as possible... Meanwhile she's sitting at a folding table under an event tent with a bunch of sound equipment and staff and people walking past pointing at her and whispering to each other that they think that might be Amy Goodman. So, yeah, maybe she interpreted the cop holding a baton and having his horse nearby as a threat? Maybe she really was worried that the cops would put the protesters back another 15 feet and she'd have to move her table? But personally I think it sounded more like she was just trying to get whatever positive press for the protest she could, which meant painting the cops as the bad guys, so that's what she did.
Anyways, I still listen to her show sometimes. Her interviews I like a lot more than her reporting. But I kind of put her in the same camp as Michael Moore or Paul Watson or somebody. She's there first and foremost to have a particular impact on the national discussion about various issues and that impact is much more important than accuracy. She's an activist first and a journalist second. And there is nothing wrong with that. Heck, if somebody dropped a vast listening audience in my lap tomorrow, I might do the same thing. But, personally, I would just rather get my news from somebody who is a journalist first and an activist second or not an activist at all.