September 3, 2008

Amy Goodman

BuzzFlash chooses to honor a heroine at the GOP convention in Minnesota. No, our choice is not religious right-winger McCain/GOP vice presidential pick Sarah Palin.

Instead we recognize Amy Goodman, journalist and patriot par excellence, who demonstrated heart, courage, and faith in the First Amendment in the face of arrest at the scene of protests in St. Paul on the first day of the GOP convention.

Goodman was arrested while seeking to aid two colleagues from Pacifica Radio, producers Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar, who had been arrested earlier. Police also arrested AP photographer Matt Rourke, who likewise was working to cover the 10,000-strong anti-war protest. The AP reported that police detained 280 protesters in addition to the three media representatives.

Democracy Now! had this to say on its Web site:

During the demonstration in which the Democracy Now! team was arrested, law enforcement officers used pepper spray, rubber bullets, concussion grenades and excessive force against protesters and journalists.…

Amy Goodman is one of the most well-known and well-respected journalists in the United States. She has received journalism's top honors for her reporting and has a distinguished reputation of bravery and courage. The arrest of Goodman, Kouddous and Salazar and the subsequent criminal charges and threat of charges are a transparent attempt to intimidate journalists.

Back in 2005, BuzzFlash called Amy Goodman "… one of the smartest, most indefatigable, courageous journalistic figures to restore the integrity of the media to its rightful role in democracy."

Amy Goodman, her colleagues at Democracy Now!, the AP's Matt Rourke, and the protesters themselves stood up to the GOP and stood up for freedom of speech, and assembly in St. Paul. For that, we give thanks and award her the Wings of Justice award this week.

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