“Media can be the greatest force for peace on Earth.” That is what Amy Goodman, host of the award-winning program “Democracy Now!” told a group of more than 150 people at special Gateway Journalism Review event March 29.
BY SAM ROBINSON / Gateway Journalism Review will once again host a First Amendment celebration on March 29. The event will be at the Edward Jones Headquarters in Des Peres, Mo. Longtime St. Louis publisher Ray Hartmann will serve as the master of ceremonies. Amy Goodman, host of “Democracy Now!” will be the keynote speaker.
BY SAM ROBINSON / New $25 tickets are now available for the March 29 First Amendment celebration featuring Amy Goodman, award-winning journalist and host of “Democracy Now!” The annual event benefiting Gateway Journalism Review will take place at the Edward Jones Headquarters in Des Peres, Mo. Goodman will speak at 8 p.m. Those who would like to attend the program, but not the full event, can now purchase tickets for just $25.
Beef Products Inc., makers of the infamous lean finely textured beef, a.k.a. “pink slime,” is keeping its legal team hard at work. The South Dakota-based ground beef processor made the news recently because of two separate settlements, as well as a ruling in a major defamation suit. A U.S. District Court judge ruled June 12 that BPI’s $1.2 billion defamation lawsuit against ABC News and others should be moved back to state court, where the suit initially was filed last September.
In 2010, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a $1.25 billion settlement in the discrimination lawsuit by African-American agriculture producers. The case, commonly known as Pigford I or II, represents the largest civil rights settlement in the history of the United States. Yet very few media outlets provided original or continued coverage of the case. The two media outlets that most frequently gave the settlement attention were National Public Radio and the Washington Post. Both are based in the D.C. area and are known for covering the national political scene. The Associated Press had a handful of articles and briefs related to the case. The NPR reports and AP articles then were recycled through media outlets across the United States. Granted, limited attention is better than no attention – but why, in a region in which agriculture is a leading industry, did we not see more original reporting by Midwest media?