Alternative voice (2006)

TV Review from the April 2006 issue of the Socialist Standard

Democracy Now! Pacifica Radio. http://www.democracynow.org/

“Independent media has a crucial responsibility to go to where the silence is to represent the diverse voices of people engaged in dissent.” Thus is the journalistic philosophy of Amy Goodman, host and executive producer of the New York–based radio/television news programme Democracy Now!, now in its tenth year. True to her vision, Goodman’s one-hour show covers the stories ignored or suppressed by the corporate-sponsored media, and provides a platform for the politically underrepresented to give their views and commentary on stories reported by the mainstream news. Artists, leftist academics, peace activists, whistleblowers, union representatives, and independent journalists make up the majority of those interviewed. In many respects, then, Democracy Now! is like a daily edition of Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States, reporting on the activities of various segments of the working class to resist political and economic oppression.

Each show begins with Amy Goodman delivering ten minutes of headline news; while there is a tendency to focus on American politics, the show is much more international in scope than most other American news programmes. The remaining fifty minutes explores one or two stories in further detail via interviews or a live debate between a prominent activist or academic and a government spokesperson. Past guests have included academics Norman Finkelstein, Noam Chomsky, and Howard Zinn; authors Alice Walker, Arundhati Roy, and Salman Rushdie; and spokespeople from civil rights and activist groups such as Greenpeace and the American Civil Liberties Union. The plethora of voices critical of the government and society is a welcome diversion from the business and government cronies featured on most corporate news programmes. (And unlike other so-called “independent” or “public” media outlets, Democracy Now! is funded entirely by listeners, viewers, and foundations; they run no advertising and do not accept donations from corporations or governments.)

If the show has one fault, it is that it sometimes assumes a particular political group or ideology must have merit simply because its views are in the minority. Such was the case with a February show commemorating the assassination of black nationalist leader Malcolm X. Guests were brought in to heap praises upon the man, and a long excerpt from his speech “The Ballot or the Bullet” was played. No comment or criticism was made on his racist-separatist agenda, nor on his suggestion that the “black community” would be better off if blacks ran their own economy. Goodman, who is usually unafraid to pose hard-hitting questions, neglected to challenge the ludicrous implication that black workers would be any less exploited serving black masters than white ones.

Nonetheless, Democracy Now! serves a useful purpose in bringing underreported stories and views to the forefront. Until socialists can establish their own news programme, Goodman’s show is a good supplement or even outright replacement for the corporate nightly news.

Tristan Miller

Democracy Now! is broadcast in London on Resonance 104.4 FM Thursdays at 11:00; across Europe on Sky Digital channel 0122 Monday to Friday at 15:00; and on the Internet via RealAudio, RealVideo, MP3, or Ogg Vorbis at http://www.democracynow.org/ .