Democracy Now

[Delenda Carthago]

What's your view on DemocracyNow?I think its one of the biggest emprise in USA right now...What's the dealio with US leftists and DN?

[Jimmie Higgins]

I'm not sure what you are asking. Are you saying you think it is the biggest imperialist in the US right now? The biggest enterprise?

In general? Well while it doesn't have strictly revolutionary politics, it probably the highest profile generally left program in the US. Things like Pacifica radio and Democracy Now, while far from revolutionary, do allow left-wing voices to be heard by a larger portion of the population and that is overall a good thing considering the size of the radical left right now in the US.

Democracy Now is critical of the wars on principle, and doesn't equivocate about being against things like prisoner torture and so on; it is also critical of the TARP plan. Of course like Naomi Klein or Michael Moore, the alternatives it tends to suggest are sort of keynsian to social-democratic, but in general it's good that they are raising real questions about the war and recession and attacks on labor and repression of activists and oppressed groups.

While we should always be critical of the limitations of the program's progressive/social-democratic outlook, I think we can save our most of our fire for criticizing talk-shows that spew conservative bullshit or provide liberal-excuses for the failures and betrayals of the Democratic Party.

[The Red Next Door]

It not an enterprise especially since it only get play on grassroots television stations like Link Tv and Free speech and public access tv. which is funded public and not buy some big corporate companies. I think it is a little silly to say that Democracy Now is some enterprise when it be on tv stations funded by common people and it far from being imperialist, I think it the biggest voice for all of the left doesn't matter if you're a liberal (escaping from mainstream media like i did when i was one) social dem, communist, anarchist, or socialist.

[FreeFocus]

DN is an excellent program with some serious, valuable content. To write it off as "social democratic" or "reformist" is ignorant and unwise. DN gives considerable airtime to revolutionary voices and positions, from anti-imperialism to grassroots organizing to socialism in general.

I do grow tired of them from time to time - for example, right before and right after Obama was elected, I stopped watching/reading for about a month.

[Across The Street]

I met Amy Goodman in '03 and my opinion is that she sincerely cares about the truth being heard.

[Sendo]

so what if it's not revolutionary enough? It's not a political forum (though actually, they do that too, with a wide variety of guests, nevermind) but a news program. It is unembedded, critical, left-wing news with AMAZING hosts and journalists and guests and the first 15 minutes sum up world events nicely enough for you to be able to find out more.

For example, if they report a couple sentences on Nepal in the opening one day, even if they don't do a feature, you're at least aware enough to do more research, whereas for CNN, news doesnt exist outside of American circles of power, terrorists, natural disasters, and celebrity gossip.

I don't go for DN! for Marxist theoretical analysis, I go for news and a way to coax the politically inactive into becoming interested. But if I want the Marxism, I can watch archived interview with guys like Parenti.

[x359594]

...I don't go for DN! for Marxist theoretical analysis, I go for news and a way to coax the politically inactive into becoming interested. But if I want the Marxism, I can watch archived interview with guys like Parenti.

Precisely.

As for DN! being an "enterprise" (whatever that's supposed to mean,) it's certainly not owned by the corporate media and it's not beholden to any advertisers nor any corporate sponsored charitable foundations.

[Liberateeducate]

It's the only analysis of what's going on in Haiti that i can stand. Solid program, wish there were more like it.

[cyu]

What's your view on DemocracyNow?

Good, but not as good as revleft. Honestly if I could listen to Democracy Now and read revleft at the same time, I'd probably turn off the radio so I could concentrate on the reading more.

That said, it's better than most programs available on the radio where I live.

[Sendo]

Good, but not as good as revleft.

From where do you think many of us get the news on which we comment? News station and a message board...This isn't comparing apples and oranges; this is comparing apples and transmission fluids.

[the last donut of the night]

Good, but not as good as revleft.

We are not a news source. Also, reading great news and then seeing the sectarian lulz fest after is a bit annoying...

[RedSonRising]

It's more critical of existing events, people, and policies than it is expressive about any particular ideology. So while it's not revolutionary leftist, it's often critical of enemies of innocents and the working class and provides alternative viewpoints to critical issues. Their cohesiveness as a media network is as successful as it can be in maintaining more objective criticism. The people they have there are also very respectable and informative, so the content speaks for itself and the program simply presents us with the interviews and news coverage, as opposed to picking a side and going Fox with it. Besides the occasional openly reformist (and usually harmless) guests and viewpoints, I think it's invaluable to the left and should be utilized by any potential movement .

[RadioRaheem84]

It's an oasis in the middle of the dessert, that's for sure. Democracy Now covers some of the best stuff the mainstream news doesn't want to cover. And on top of that it's well respected among all people among major sectors of the liberal-left and some on the right.

[AmericanRed]

It's imperfect, but if it didn't exist I'd miss it.

[RedHal]

yeah DN is progressive, but not radical enough to scare off the Ford Foundation from granting them funds:rolleyes:

[cyu]

We are not a news source

Actually, I consider revleft to be a news source. For example, a lot of the threads are started by someone posting news. Then there's http://www.revleft.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=12

If you argue that we're not an *original* news source, well, neither are a lot of the stories you get out of mainstream media - they often do nothing more than just reprint word-for-word copies from the AP wire and the like.

[the last donut of the night]

Actually, I consider revleft to be a news source. For example, a lot of the threads are started by someone posting news. Then there's http://www.revleft.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=12

If you argue that we're not an *original* news source, well, neither are a lot of the stories you get out of mainstream media - they often do nothing more than just reprint word-for-word copies from the AP wire and the like.

Thank you!

I didn't know about our newswire.

[cyu]

I didn't know about our newswire.


Yeah, the folks running that are pretty awesome =]

[Guerrilla22]

An enterprise? They only are on public access tv channels and community radio stations. I'm pretty sure they aren't making much if any money. Anyways, they do highlight certain issues that the corporate media won't cover.

[Pawn Power]

Y'all have really weird standards for journalism.

"Well, its not revolutionary leftist but I guess it'll do..." :lol:

Do you really want your media to be "revolutionary leftist"? What does that even mean.

I prefer to have my news media to be accurate, critical, and extensive. DN! is miles of ahead of practically all major news networks which have budgets 100 times as large.

To change the popular discourse in the US many more people need to be exposed to the facts (import facts that are relevant to their lives)- and these can only come from independent media. DN! has great potentiality to really shift popular discourse.