Monday through Friday, twice a day, the voice of Amy Goodman, co-host and executive producer of award-winning radio news program Democracy Now!, rings out over the waves on CFRU.
This Sunday, her voice will ring out in Rozanski Room 104 at a talk organized by a multitude of campus organizations, CFRU chief among them. CFRU station manager Vish Khanna recently interviewed Goodman for his podcast Kreative Kontrol. We asked Khanna about Goodman’s influence ahead of her upcoming visit.
Will Wellington: Do you remember the first time you heard Amy Goodman? What did you think at the time?
Vish Khanna: I don’t remember the first time per se but I’m certain it was on CFRU. I’ve always appreciated the dedication, substance, and uncompromising nature of Amy’s engagement with journalism and her role within it.
WW: What influence has she had on you as a broadcaster? Has she changed the way you act or see yourself?
VK: Amy’s among a cohort of influences who have taught me about truly listening to people and also seeking out voices that are impacting or most impacted by the news of the day. Those firsthand accounts are vital to telling a story comprehensively. I can’t pinpoint how she may have influenced me personally, but it’s likely telling that I feel aligned with her philosophically.
WW: What influence do you think she has had around CFRU?
VK: Well, Democracy Now! is among our most significant programs in terms of bringing us news and stories that we don’t hear via mainstream media. We’re fortunate to have so many hard-working programmers and volunteers who do similar work on a community level and I imagine many of them could cite Amy and her crew as an inspiration.WW: Why is Amy Goodman important?
VK: She is among the most vital and persistent journalists of our time and, in a fact-challenged world, she and her team hold themselves to the highest standard of reporting. This kind of work has been taken for granted for far too long and we’re now dealing with this mess of misinformation and casual mistrust of expertise.In the coming years, more of us will look back at a program like Democracy Now! and the reporting they’re doing right now and realize how significant it truly was. It’s possible that some of us already see this now.
Photo by Alora Griffiths/The Ontarion.