Democracy Now!

Democracy Now!
GenreNews program, current affairs
Running time60 minutes daily (Monday thru Friday)
Home stationWBAI
Syndicates
  • Pacifica Radio (radio)
  • WestLink (television)
Hosted by
  • Amy Goodman (principal host)
  • Juan González (frequent co-host)
  • Nermeen Shaikh (frequent co-host)
Produced byMike Burke
Executive producer(s)Amy Goodman
Recording studioNew York City
Original releaseFebruary 19, 1996 (1996-02-19) –
present
Audio formatStereophonic sound
Opening theme"Need to Know" by Incognito
Ending theme"Kid You'll Move Mountains" by Manitoba
Websitewww.democracynow.org

Democracy Now! is an hour-long TV, radio, and Internet news program based in Manhattan and hosted by journalists Amy Goodman (who also acts as the show's executive producer), Juan González,[1][2] and Nermeen Shaikh. The show, which airs live each weekday at 8 a.m. Eastern Time, is broadcast on the Internet and via more than 1,400 radio and television stations worldwide.[3]

The program combines news reporting, interviews, investigative journalism and political commentary from a progressive perspective. It documents social movements, struggles for justice, activism challenging corporate power and operates as a watchdog outfit regarding the effects of American foreign policy.[2] Democracy Now! views its aim as one providing activists and the citizenry a platform to debate people from "the establishment".[2] The show is described as progressive[4] by fans as well as critics, but Goodman rejects that label, calling the program a global newscast that has "people speaking for themselves".[1] Democracy Now! describes its staff as "includ[ing] some of this country's leading progressive journalists."[5]

Democracy Now Productions, the independent media nonprofit organization that produces Democracy Now!,[2] is funded entirely through contributions from listeners, viewers,[6] and foundations such as the Park Foundation,[7] Ford Foundation,[8] Lannan Foundation,[9] and the J.M. Kaplan Fund.[10][11] It has over $36 million in assets and about a $10 million annual budget.[12] Democracy Now! does not accept advertisers, corporate underwriting or government funding.[13] The show has become popular on the internet, and from the late 2010s onward, has been involved in pioneering extensive media cooperation in the public sphere across the US.[2]

  1. ^ a b Stelter, Brian (October 23, 2011). "A Grass-Roots Newscast Gives a Voice to Struggles". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 25, 2017. Retrieved October 23, 2011.
  2. ^ a b c d e Cite error: The named reference Marmura99 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Democracy Now Stations". Democracy Now. Archived from the original on September 27, 2018. Retrieved May 7, 2016.
  4. ^ Fish 2017, p. 59.
  5. ^ "Staff". Democracy Now!. Archived from the original on March 16, 2018. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
  6. ^ Grigoryan, Nune; Suetzl, Wolfgang (2019). "Hybridized political participation". In Atkinson, Joshua D.; Kenix, Linda (eds.). Alternative Media Meets Mainstream Politics: Activist Nation Rising. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 185. ISBN 9781498584357. Archived from the original on October 7, 2023. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  7. ^ Park Foundation – Grants Awarded – 1st Quarter 2020 Archived July 15, 2022, at the Wayback Machine (PDF), p. 6.
  8. ^ Ford Foundation Annual Report 2004 Archived February 13, 2021, at the Wayback Machine (PDF), p. 129.
  9. ^ ProPublica – Form 990 Return of Lannan Foundation 2008 Archived October 7, 2023, at the Wayback Machine (PDF), p. 148.
  10. ^ Sourcewatch (June 7, 2013) Kaplan Fund Archived August 5, 2020, at the Wayback Machine – Center for Media and Democracy
  11. ^ Feldman, Bob (2007). Report from the Field: Left Media and Left Think Tanks – Foundation-Managed Protest? Archived September 21, 2020, at the Wayback Machine (PDF), pp. 11, 14.
  12. ^ "Democracy Now Productions (Democracy Now!)". InfluenceWatch. Archived from the original on March 14, 2023. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  13. ^ "About Democracy Now". Democracy Now. Archived from the original on January 16, 2018. Retrieved May 7, 2016.