Amy Goodman says dissent is what makes the United States strong.
Goodman, host of "Democracy Now!," made a stop at the Albuquerque Academy with her brother and co-author David Goodman on Saturday as part of their 71-city tour promoting their new book, The Exceptions to the Rulers. They also spoke out for media literacy.
The presentation lasted close to three hours and featured a screening of Amy Goodman's short documentary "Independent Media in a Time of War," a biting appraisal of mainstream media's coverage of the events leading up to the invasion of Iraq.
Both speakers discussed the role of media in times of war, and called for a press that is free of corporate interests.
The presentation drew much applause and even some laughs.
"Our book is really a collection of some of the hidden stories, the stories you're not reading about from the mainstream corporate news," David Goodman said. "Such as it really shouldn't be necessary for a couple of journalists to write a book called The Exception to the Rulers. Every newspaper and news show ought to have that as its tagline. But unfortunately, what we have is a corporate media who are the megaphone to the rulers."
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Both speakers covered a wide range of topics including the war in Iraq, the deregulation of the airwaves, the silencing of the majority through media and the historical precedent for independent media.
"We are talking about the silencing of not the minority in this country, and not a silent majority, but the silenced majority silenced by the corporate media," Amy Goodman said. "That has got to change. The media should be a sanctuary for dissent. It makes this country healthy."
Goodman cited a study conducted by Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting that found only three anti-war voices out of 393 were aired on the major networks - NBC, CBS, ABC and PBS - leading up to the invasion of Iraq.
"That is not mainstream media," she said. "That is extreme media beating the drums for war. They are using a national treasure - public airwaves - and have a responsibility to bring us the full diversity of opinion."
Goodman also discussed the trials independent media have gone through, citing a Houston radio station that in 1970 had its transmitter blown up twice in its first year by the Ku Klux Klan.
She said the Klan understood the dangers of letting people speak for themselves. By allowing people to tell their own experiences, she said the caricatures and stereotypes that fuel hate can be broken down.
Amy Goodman said members of the media are not only responsible for repeating the views of the government and those in control, but they are also responsible for the lives of the victims of this misrepresentation of the facts.
"We know the government lies, and it's not just this administration," Goodman said. "But what we don't expect is that the media acts as a megaphone for those lies. That's because the media gives what any administration says credibility. We trust it. And when it does that, it's a very, very egregious problem because the lies take lives."
