Democracy Now!’s Amy Goodman: Defends Independent Media, Resists Trump, and Exposes Global Injustice

Amy Goodman discusses independent media’s role in resisting Trump-era attacks, defending public broadcasting, exposing injustice from U.S. immigration to Gaza, and amplifying grassroots voices for truth and change. I interviewed her at Netroots Nation 2025 (#NN25), where she was also a keynote speaker.

Amy Goodman discusses the current events.

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Podcasts (Video — Audio)

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Summary

Amy Goodman emphasizes the unprecedented threat facing independent media under the Trump administration, highlighting the systematic dismantling of public broadcasting infrastructure and the critical role grassroots journalism plays in democratic discourse. She warns that the administration’s attacks on media independence represent a broader authoritarian strategy while documenting ongoing humanitarian crises and human rights violations that mainstream outlets inadequately cover.

• Systematic Media Suppression: The Trump administration has eliminated $1.1 billion in funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, effectively ending half a century of public media support and threatening over 1,500 local stations nationwide.
• Palestine Coverage Crisis: Over 200 Palestinian journalists have been killed in what Goodman describes as “the largest concentration of journalists killed in the smallest amount of time any time in history.” In contrast, Western journalists remain barred from Gaza.
• Immigration Enforcement Escalation: ICE operations have intensified dramatically, with agents targeting students like Mahmood Khalil and Ramesa Ozurk, using tactics that echo historical authoritarian regimes with phrases like “we are only following orders.”
• Healthcare System Under Attack: The administration’s proposed legislation threatens to eliminate health insurance for 17 million Americans, including 12 million on Medicaid, while providing tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires.
• Independent Media as Democratic Defense: Community-powered stations like KPFT and Democracy Now! represent the last line of defense against corporate media complicity, offering authentic voices from affected communities rather than pundit interpretations.

The systematic destruction of independent media infrastructure represents nothing less than a coordinated assault on democratic institutions designed to concentrate information control in the hands of corporate and political elites. Goodman’s analysis reveals how the Trump administration understands media power dynamics better than many progressives—recognizing that truly independent journalism poses an existential threat to authoritarian consolidation.

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This conversation with Amy Goodman reveals the stark reality facing American democracy in 2025: a coordinated campaign to dismantle independent media infrastructure while mainstream outlets capitulate to authoritarian pressure. This systematic assault on press freedom represents more than policy disagreement—it constitutes a fundamental threat to democratic governance itself.

The Corporate Media Capitulation Crisis

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s shutdown after losing federal funding exemplifies how corporate media structures ultimately serve power rather than public interest. When CBS settled with Trump for $16 million over routine interview editing—a practice Goodman correctly identifies as “like breathing for radio and TV”—the network demonstrated how profit motives override journalistic integrity. Trump’s targeting of independent media outlets and firing of CPB board directors shows a systematic strategy to eliminate media independence.

The settlement wasn’t about journalistic malpractice; it was about Shari Redstone’s billion-dollar deal with Skydance, a company aligned with Trump’s interests. This transaction reveals how media consolidation enables political control, as corporate owners sacrifice editorial independence for financial gain. When major networks bow to authoritarian pressure for economic reasons, they abandon their democratic responsibility to serve as government watchdogs.

The Gaza Coverage Blackout and Journalistic Courage

Goodman’s reporting on Palestine illustrates why independent media threatens power structures. Her documentation that over 200 Palestinian journalists have been killed while Western journalists remain barred from Gaza exposes a deliberate strategy to control information flow. The systematic targeting of journalists represents what international law recognizes as a war crime, yet mainstream media outlets consistently underreport this crisis.

The courage displayed by Palestinian journalists, who continue reporting despite facing death, starvation, and bombing, contrasts sharply with Western media’s compliance with access restrictions. When Netanyahu refuses international journalists access while claiming no starvation exists, the logical response should be to demand proof through open access. Instead, mainstream outlets accept these restrictions, effectively becoming complicit in information suppression.

International public opinion has shifted dramatically, with massive protests in Australia and London, while leaders like Canada’s Prime Minister and France’s President call for Palestinian state recognition. Yet American mainstream media continues presenting this as a balanced conflict rather than what Holocaust scholars and international human rights groups increasingly recognize as genocide.

ICE Terror Tactics and Historical Parallels

The targeting of students like Mahmood Khalil and Ramesa Ozurk reveals how immigration enforcement has become a tool of political intimidation. When ICE agents tell a terrified young woman, “we are only following orders,” they invoke language that deliberately echoes Nazi justifications—a parallel Goodman correctly identifies as “resonating horribly” with World War II history.

These operations aren’t random enforcement actions; they’re carefully orchestrated terror campaigns designed to silence dissent and intimidate vulnerable communities. The fact that agents specifically target student activists and scholars demonstrates the political nature of these raids. When Ramesa Ozurk screamed “I’m calling the police,” and agents responded “We are the police,” the exchange captured the authoritarian reality facing immigrant communities.

Healthcare Destruction as Class Warfare

The proposed elimination of health insurance for 17 million Americans, including 12 million on Medicaid, while providing tax breaks for millionaires, represents naked class warfare disguised as fiscal policy. This “big ugly bill,” as Goodman calls it, deliberately transfers wealth from society’s most vulnerable to its wealthiest members—a pattern that defines contemporary American politics.

The irony that Trump voters will suffer most from these policies reflects the success of right-wing media manipulation. However, progressive media outlets must move beyond pointing out this irony to building solidarity among all working people threatened by these policies. The healthcare crisis affects Republicans and Democrats alike, creating opportunities for cross-partisan organizing that independent media can facilitate.

The KPFT Model and Community-Powered Journalism

The history of KPFT radio station demonstrates both the threats facing independent media and the resilience of community-powered journalism. When the station’s transmitter was blown up twice by the Ku Klux Klan in the 1970s, the community rebuilt it—showing how grassroots support can overcome violent opposition.

Today’s threats are more sophisticated but no less dangerous. Rather than dynamite, contemporary authoritarians use funding cuts, legal harassment, and corporate pressure to silence independent voices. Congress’s rescission of $9 billion in previously allocated funds, including $1.1 billion for public broadcasting, represents a systematic strategy to eliminate media independence through financial strangulation.

The Pacifica Radio model that KPFT represents—people-powered, grassroots-focused media that brings community voices directly to audiences—offers an alternative to corporate media’s pundit-driven coverage. When Democracy Now! interviews affected communities rather than Washington insiders, they provide authenticity that corporate media cannot match.

Building Progressive Media Infrastructure

The current crisis demands urgent action to build independent media infrastructure before authoritarian consolidation becomes irreversible. This requires moving beyond individual donations to collective organizing that creates sustainable funding models for progressive journalism.

Community-supported journalism represents one path forward, but it requires systematic organizing to build the subscriber base necessary for sustainability. Progressive organizations, unions, and activist groups must prioritize media support as essential to their broader political goals. When independent media outlets fail, they lose crucial allies in policy fights and organizing campaigns.

Technology offers new possibilities for distributed media networks that resist centralized control. Podcasting, independent video platforms, and community radio can create resilient information systems that survive corporate pressure and government censorship. However, these platforms require technical infrastructure and financial support that only collective organizing can provide.

The International Context and Global Solidarity

Goodman’s international perspective reveals how American media isolation serves imperial interests. When Australian protesters number in the hundreds of thousands while American demonstrations receive minimal coverage, it exposes how mainstream media maintains information bubbles that prevent solidarity building.

The global shift in public opinion regarding Palestine demonstrates the power of grassroots media networks that transcend national boundaries. Social media platforms, despite their limitations, have enabled direct communication between Palestinian journalists and international audiences, bypassing traditional gatekeepers who filter information to serve state and corporate interests.

However, this global connectivity also enables authoritarian coordination, as right-wing movements share tactics and propaganda across borders. Progressive media must develop similar international networks that facilitate solidarity while resisting corporate platform censorship.

The Path Forward: Democracy Through Direct Action

The conversation ultimately points toward the necessity of treating media democracy as inseparable from political democracy. When Congresswoman Delia Ramirez calls for transforming the Democratic Party into an “opposition party,” she recognizes that traditional political institutions have proven inadequate to current threats.

Independent media serves as both chronicler and catalyst for the grassroots organizing that democracy requires. When KPFT and Democracy Now! amplify community voices rather than elite perspectives, they enable the authentic democratic participation that corporate media suppresses.

The current crisis offers opportunities alongside its dangers. As corporate media credibility collapses and mainstream outlets capitulate to authoritarian pressure, audiences increasingly seek authentic alternatives. Independent media that consistently tells truth to power while building genuine community connections can fill this void—but only if progressives recognize media organizing as essential political work.

The destruction of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting represents a loss, but it also clarifies the stakes. In an era when corporate media serves power rather than democracy, community-powered journalism becomes revolutionary simply by existing. Amy Goodman’s decades of independent reporting demonstrate that another media is possible—one that serves people rather than profit, truth rather than power, and democracy rather than authoritarianism.

The question facing progressives isn’t whether independent media can survive these attacks, but whether they will organize sufficient support to ensure it thrives. The answer will determine not just the future of journalism, but the future of American democracy itself. And you hold the key.