Frederick Goodman

Amy Goodman is an American broadcast journalist, syndicated columnist, investigative reporter, and author, born in 1957. She is best known as the host and executive producer of Democracy Now!, an independent global news program she co-founded in 1996. This program, broadcast daily on radio, television, and the internet, aims to present voices and viewpoints often overlooked by mainstream US corporate media.

Goodman's career includes extensive investigative reporting on significant global events and social issues. Her notable work includes coverage of the Santa Cruz massacre in East Timor, the independence movement there, the role of Chevron Corporation in Nigeria, anti-globalization protests, and the 2004 Haitian coup d'état. She has received numerous awards for her journalism, including the Thomas Merton Award and the Right Livelihood Award. Goodman has authored several books and has faced arrest and legal challenges while reporting from various locations.

Born in Bay Shore, New York, Amy Goodman's parents were actively involved in social causes. Her father was an ophthalmologist, and her mother worked as a literature teacher and later a social worker. Her maternal grandfather was an Orthodox rabbi, and her maternal grandmother was born in Rivne, Ukraine. Goodman completed her high school education in 1975 and went on to study at the College of the Atlantic before graduating from Radcliffe College of Harvard University in 1984 with a degree in anthropology.

Goodman's journalistic career began at WBAI, a Pacifica Radio station, where she produced an evening news program for a decade. In 1991, while reporting on the East Timor independence movement, she and Allan Nairn were assaulted by Indonesian soldiers after witnessing the Santa Cruz massacre. This event led to their award-winning documentary, "Massacre: The Story of East Timor." In 1996, she co-founded Democracy Now!, a program that has become a significant platform for independent news, offering coverage of political conventions and social movements. Described as a "flagship of Pacifica Radio," Democracy Now! has been recognized for filling a crucial niche in media coverage, providing perspectives often absent from corporate news outlets.

Throughout her career, Goodman has undertaken significant investigations, including documenting Chevron's involvement in a deadly confrontation with villagers in Nigeria, which resulted in the documentary "Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship." She famously interviewed President Bill Clinton in 2000, challenging him on various human rights issues. Goodman has also faced considerable challenges, including arrests and legal battles. In 2008, she was arrested during the Republican National Convention in Minnesota while attempting to ascertain the status of her colleagues. Later, she was charged with criminal trespass and riot while covering the Dakota Access Pipeline protests in North Dakota in 2016, though the charges were eventually dismissed. These incidents highlight the risks associated with her commitment to independent reporting.

“She's not an editorialist. She sticks to the facts... She provides points of view that make you think, and she comes at it by saying: 'Who are we not hearing from in the traditional media?'”

“hostile and combative”

“huge niche”

“Everything she reported on was from the position of justifying the protest actions.”

“a protester”