Over ninety friends of Access Sacramento were invited to have lunch on April 17th with Amy Goodman, Co-Host of “Democracy Now!” and noted journalist. The luncheon was a fundraiser for Access Sacramento and was held at California Stage Theatre (25th and R Street).

Amy was joined by award-winning Investigative Journalist and brother, David Goodman. The two were present in Sacramento promote their new book Standing up to the Madness. 

Standing up to the Madness tells the stories of ordinary people who in many cases, risk their lives fighting for what they believe in. It inspires citizens to join the fight in taking the media back and telling stories that would otherwise not be heard.

Interviewing national and local leaders has also inspired Ms. Goodman.

“For every incredibly difficult situation (and there are many), there’s always someone fighting hard to make it better,” insists Amy. She emphasizes that journalists who find themselves discouraged by negativity in the media, should keep this fact in mind.

“I think the biggest problem is not allowing people to speak for themselves,” suggests Amy. “There’s nothing more powerful than hearing someone tell their own story.”

Both Amy and David shared examples from the time they spent travelling and collecting stories of activists for their book. After speaking for an hour, they signed copies of their book for guests.

In a video interview with Amy, I brought up the trend of community media and public access stations being shut down all over the country.

“I’m deeply concerned about what’s happening to public access in this country,” says Amy. She feels that citizens should fight to keep alive these public access stations that train residents and allow them to have their stories heard. In addition, “Democracy Now!” airs on 765 stations all over the country, a majority of which are community access stations.

According to Amy, hope is not yet lost. With the rise of “citizen journalism”, Internet blogging, and YouTube videos, more citizens are getting their voices heard.

As for whether their will be jobs for professional journalists in the future, Amy adds, “If you’re interested in journalism, go for it. Break the sound barrier. Go to where the silence is. We can’t yet say what the forms of new media will be. But what we can say is if you have a passion, follow your heart.”

My video interview with Amy Goodman will be appearing on Media Edge in May. For updates airing dates and times, you can visit http://www.wethemedia.tv/

Photo credit goes to Kati Garner.