It may sound redundant to say this, but government repression is meant to be repressive. The consequences don't end after the front page headlines are forgotten, but bear down on real human beings with legal bills, financial worries, sponsor jitters, fearfulness for future, career, and family, and a host of other ways in which government repression works to lock down and seal off dissent.
Defending oneself takes money. Putting on a great news program and managing a fantastic website also takes cash. (And if you don't regularly visit the Democracy Now! site, you can bookmark it now, and make it a regular stop.) So read DN!'s appeal, and show they some support. They are there for you; we should be there for them.
After Wrongful RNC Arrests, Democracy Now! Vows to Continue Reporting, Unabated and Unembedded
We need your support.
We hope you had a chance to tune in to Democracy Now!'s extended coverage of the Democratic and Republican National Conventions over the past two weeks. We grilled politicians with tough questions and exposed the backroom corporate suites. We deployed our reporters into the protest-filled streets to broadcast voices of the silenced majority.
And, last week, we came head to head with the $50 million RNC security operation.
This week's arrests of journalists including Democracy Now!'s own Amy Goodman [see video clip above], Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar are chilling examples of how police targeted journalists during the RNC in St. Paul. As you probably know, Amy has been charged with a misdemeanor for intervening to stop the wrongful arrests of her colleagues who face pending felony charges for simply carrying out their journalistic duties.
The world watched as the Twin Cities Police trampled the first amendment. The YouTube video of Amy's arrest has been viewed more than 750,000 times. It was the most watched YouTube video on Tuesday. The story of journalist arrests and charges was covered by media outlets from the LA Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe, San Francisco Guardian, Philadelphia Daily News, Denver Post, Associated Press, Editor & Publisher, Salon.com, as well as by local and public radio stations, and by political and news bloggers around the world.
At this time when reporters are being targeted, we rely on your support to continue our unembedded, independent journalism. More than ever, you are the key to protecting our first amendment right to a free and independent press.
As an ally of independent media, you know that government crackdowns on journalists are a true threat to democracy. We know that too. That's why we refused to let these significant disruptions prevent us from bringing you the kind of the news and information that you expect from Democracy Now! From the streets to the suites to the convention floor, we worked around the clock to broadcast independent, unembedded reporting you can't find anywhere else.
The public has cried out against the flagrant disregard for press freedom demonstrated by Twin Cities police. Thanks to many of you, St. Paul officials have received thousands of email messages and phone calls demanding that they drop all pending and current charges. Our own site received over one million hits this week as people sought out information they could trust. On Friday morning, Freepress.net delivered over 60,000 signatures to local officials demanding the charges be dropped.
Now, we ask for your financial support. After all, donations from thousands of committed viewers and listeners like you are what keeps us independent. Please help keep this critical program on the air. Without you, there would be no Democracy Now!.
Thank you for your continued support.
Democracy Now!
PS - Please forward this appeal to anyone you know who believes democracy depends on a vibrant and free press.
Donate to Democracy Now!
Video of DN! Arrests & Action Alert
Media Coverage of Journalist Arrests at RNC
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