Goodwin speaks out against biased, censored media outlets

Amy Goodman, host of the television and radio program "Democracy Now!", spoke Saturday, calling the state of media today "a dark day for journalism."

A crowd of more than 400 community members gathered at Community Mennonite Church to hear Goodman speak.

Goodman spoke about various issues of the media, including media consolidation, the difference between the coverage of the Iraq War in the United States and in other countries, terrorism in a global context and the importance of delivering alternative messages to the American public.

Goodman blamed the mainstream American media for Americans’ lack of concern over their country’s actions. "It’s not because American are stupid," she said, "It’s because we are good media consumers."

"I think that her speaking was very engaging, powerful, and motivational, " senior Christina Tiffany said. "Although I believe that she was ‘preaching to the choir’, I think that her points were valid, and it was good to hear someone so optimistic about how positive change can come about from personal and community level work and that in return can affect the larger scale of things."

Junior Sean Dougherty said, "There was some presence of rhetoric, but that’s to be expected as the function was sort of a rally. But, overall, I thought she came there with a well-developed message to broaden the scope of modern media."

"Democracy Now!" broadcasts weekdays out of an old firehouse in New York City’s Chinatown district. The show began on Pacific Radio and has expanded into a national collaboration, with over 240 public, community and college radio stations airing the show.

Beginning today, WEMC will reduce "Democracy Now!"’s presence to Friday evenings only. Members of the community are circulating a petition to continue the program’s presence on WEMC.

Tiffany said, "I believe the voices of as many people and viewpoints on current events and issues should be a part of all news sources, so we can take in people’s different perspectives and formulate our own ideas on what we think about these issues."