Amy Goodman (1957 - )

Sat Apr 13, 1957

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Amy Goodman, born on this day in 1957, is an American journalist, investigative reporter, and author who co-founded the news program Democracy Now!, which does not accept corporate funding.

Goodman’s investigative journalism work is international in scope, including coverage of the East Timor independence movement and Chevron Corporation’s complicity in violence in Nigeria; Chevron assisted the Nigerian Army in a violent conflict with villagers who had seized oil rigs to protest environmental pollution.

Goodman has also been arrested when covering anti-war protests at the RNC and charged with rioting for her coverage on attacks of Dakota Pipeline Access protesters. Goodman and her team captured footage that showed security personnel pepper-spraying and siccing attack dogs on demonstrators.

After the footage aired, North Dakota state prosecutor Ladd Erickson charged her with criminal trespass and, later, rioting. Both charges were dismissed in court.

Since 1996, Goodman has been the main host of Democracy Now!, a progressive global news program broadcast daily on radio, television and the internet. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Thomas Merton Award in 2004, a Right Livelihood Award in 2008, and an Izzy Award in 2009 for “special achievement in independent media”.

“Go to where the silence is and say something.”

- Amy Goodman