Showing posts with label Press. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Press. Show all posts
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Friday, April 19, 2013
Filmmaker Robert Greenwald on "War on Whistleblowers: Free Press and the National Security State"
Transcript
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: We turn now to whistleblowers and the unprecedented attack they’ve come under during the Obama administration. Evoking the Espionage Act of 1917, the administration has pressed criminal charges against no fewer than six government employees, more than all previous presidential administrations combined.
AMY GOODMAN: A new film directed by Robert Greenwald looks at four whistleblowers who had their lives practically destroyed after they went to the press with evidence of government wrongdoing. They are Michael DeKort, Thomas Drake, Franz Gayl and Thomas Tamm. In the film, Greenwald also interviews government oversight experts and investigative journalists who warn about the chilling effect prosecutions may have on potential whistleblowers and the journalists who help them. This is the trailer of the film, War on Whistleblowers: Free Press and the National Security State.
FRANZ GAYL: I had to do something. If not me, then who? I said, “This needs to be fixed.”
THOMAS DRAKE: I thought about various investigative reporters that I would try and contact.
THOMAS TAMM: Once I put the phone down, I was pretty confident that my life would never be quite the same.
MICHAEL DEKORT: I mean, at the end of the day, right, when you make a decision like this, if you’re not prepared to have the worst happen, then really don’t do it at all.
JANE MAYER: These people face a terrifying situation.
REPORTER: Thomas Drake, accused of leaking classified information. Agents raiding his home in Howard County.
THOMAS DRAKE: Eighteen agents, some of them in body armor, had been banging on our front door.
UNIDENTIFIED: Any time anyone takes a step like that, you know that they’ve probably got something important to say, because they are basically wiping away their career.
DANA PRIEST: There are close to a million people who have top-secret clearance.
MICHAEL DEKORT: The Obama administration had cracked down on whistleblowers.
WILLIAM KELLER: They have indicted more people for violating secrecy than all of the previous administrations put together.
UNIDENTIFIED: The number of people who indicated to us they wish they could talk, but they can’t, because they’re so afraid of what could happen to them, it’s a terrible thing for our democracy.
THOMAS DRAKE: So speaking truth to power is now a criminal act.
AMY GOODMAN: Some of those voices, Thomas Drake and William Keller of The New York Times, as well as Jane Mayer of The New Yorker. This is Democracy Now! The trailer of the new documentary, War on Whistleblowers is what you just watched. We’re joined now by its director, Robert Greenwald, and founder and president of Brave New Films, producer, director and activist.
Why did you make this film? You’ve looked at so many other issues. Why whistleblowers, Robert?
ROBERT GREENWALD: Well, there were a few things that came together. What we always try to do in our films is connect the dots and explore how the system is working. So we had the crackdown on whistleblowers, number one, but it wasn’t without reason. It’s very deeply connected to the growth and power of the national security state, which believes completely in secrets. So we had the whistleblowers. We had the national security state. And then we had some incredible investigative journalists being attacked, investigated, threatened, their careers at stake also. So we put all three of those together and made a film which allows people to understand what’s going on and how deeply threatening it is to us, in a kind of drip-drip way, where you don’t always see or understand what’s happening.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Well, Bob, I want to turn to the case of Franz Gayl, a former marine. While working at the Pentagon as a science adviser for the Marine Corps, Gayl volunteered to deploy to Iraq. Upon his return, he alerted the office of the secretary of defense, and later the Congress and the media, to critical equipment shortages. These included mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles, or MRAPs. Gayl’s public outcry exposed the fact that the corps had failed to provide marines in Iraq with life-saving technologies. Yet Gayl has been the target of years of retaliatory investigations, workplace harassment, including the elimination of meaningful duties and extended suspension of his security clearances. In this clip, Gayl explains why he made the fateful decision to save lives by requesting MRAPs to replace Humvees in Iraq. Journalist Seymour Hersh is also in this clip.
FRANZ GAYL: I had to do something. If not me, then who? And if not now, then when? It was one of those situations. And I just said, “No, no, no, no. It doesn’t matter what the consequences are, personal or otherwise, right?” I said, “This needs to be fixed.”
SEYMOUR HERSH: Whistleblowers are just people who say there’s something more important here than my boss or the general or the admiral or the president.
FRANZ GAYL: The most common vehicle used was the Humvee. They were never built to withstand weapons that the insurgents were using, these IEDs.
UNIDENTIFIED: The estimates are that about a third of the casualties in Iraq were due to Humvees.
FRANZ GAYL: Hundreds of Marines were tragically lost, probably thousands maimed, unnecessarily. So I said, “Let’s replace the Humvees with what are called MRAPs, mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles.” The MRAP was bound to save lives.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: That was Franz Gayl in the clip from War on Whistleblowers: Free Press and the National Security State. Robert Greenwald, he was one of the few whistleblowers who actually was able to keep his job, where some of the others have had really terrible times after they did their exposés. Could you talk about that, as well?
ROBERT GREENWALD: Yeah. One of the things that was a common denominator with all the whistleblowers we interviewed is the terrible personal price they paid—even Franz. He was saving lives, literally saving hundreds of lives. He was fired initially. But this is where organizing makes such an incredible impact. Organizations, POGO/GAP got behind him. They worked. People called. They took action. And it really worked. It got him his job back. And it’s important to keep that in mind.
The other cases were horrific. And what is happening over and over again is the Obama administration and previous administrations are literally shooting the messengers—punishing the whistleblowers, trying to pass laws that make it harder for whistleblowers. And look, the only way we find out about the national security state is by these people coming forward.
AMY GOODMAN: Robert Greenwald, part two of this conversation, as we go through the whistleblowers, we’ll post online at democracynow.org. The new film is called War on Whistleblowers: Free Press and the National Security State.
As we wrap up, Juan, you’re headed out after tomorrow’s show to Chicago and Detroit to speak about Harvest of Empire?
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Yes, the film is premiering there at the Gene Siskel Film Center on Friday night, and I’ll be there after the 8:15 showing for a Q&A with the audience, and then at Wayne State University at noon on Saturday.
AMY GOODMAN: And we’ll put all the details at our website at democracynow.org.
Democracy Now!
Filmmaker Robert Greenwald on "War on Whistleblowers: Free Press and the National Security State"
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Filmmaker Robert Greenwald on "War on Whistleblowers: Free Press and the National Security State"
Transcript
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: We turn now to whistleblowers and the unprecedented attack they’ve come under during the Obama administration. Evoking the Espionage Act of 1917, the administration has pressed criminal charges against no fewer than six government employees, more than all previous presidential administrations combined.
AMY GOODMAN: A new film directed by Robert Greenwald looks at four whistleblowers who had their lives practically destroyed after they went to the press with evidence of government wrongdoing. They are Michael DeKort, Thomas Drake, Franz Gayl and Thomas Tamm. In the film, Greenwald also interviews government oversight experts and investigative journalists who warn about the chilling effect prosecutions may have on potential whistleblowers and the journalists who help them. This is the trailer of the film, War on Whistleblowers: Free Press and the National Security State.
FRANZ GAYL: I had to do something. If not me, then who? I said, “This needs to be fixed.”
THOMAS DRAKE: I thought about various investigative reporters that I would try and contact.
THOMAS TAMM: Once I put the phone down, I was pretty confident that my life would never be quite the same.
MICHAEL DEKORT: I mean, at the end of the day, right, when you make a decision like this, if you’re not prepared to have the worst happen, then really don’t do it at all.
JANE MAYER: These people face a terrifying situation.
REPORTER: Thomas Drake, accused of leaking classified information. Agents raiding his home in Howard County.
THOMAS DRAKE: Eighteen agents, some of them in body armor, had been banging on our front door.
UNIDENTIFIED: Any time anyone takes a step like that, you know that they’ve probably got something important to say, because they are basically wiping away their career.
DANA PRIEST: There are close to a million people who have top-secret clearance.
MICHAEL DEKORT: The Obama administration had cracked down on whistleblowers.
WILLIAM KELLER: They have indicted more people for violating secrecy than all of the previous administrations put together.
UNIDENTIFIED: The number of people who indicated to us they wish they could talk, but they can’t, because they’re so afraid of what could happen to them, it’s a terrible thing for our democracy.
THOMAS DRAKE: So speaking truth to power is now a criminal act.
AMY GOODMAN: Some of those voices, Thomas Drake and William Keller of The New York Times, as well as Jane Mayer of The New Yorker. This is Democracy Now! The trailer of the new documentary, War on Whistleblowers is what you just watched. We’re joined now by its director, Robert Greenwald, and founder and president of Brave New Films, producer, director and activist.
Why did you make this film? You’ve looked at so many other issues. Why whistleblowers, Robert?
ROBERT GREENWALD: Well, there were a few things that came together. What we always try to do in our films is connect the dots and explore how the system is working. So we had the crackdown on whistleblowers, number one, but it wasn’t without reason. It’s very deeply connected to the growth and power of the national security state, which believes completely in secrets. So we had the whistleblowers. We had the national security state. And then we had some incredible investigative journalists being attacked, investigated, threatened, their careers at stake also. So we put all three of those together and made a film which allows people to understand what’s going on and how deeply threatening it is to us, in a kind of drip-drip way, where you don’t always see or understand what’s happening.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Well, Bob, I want to turn to the case of Franz Gayl, a former marine. While working at the Pentagon as a science adviser for the Marine Corps, Gayl volunteered to deploy to Iraq. Upon his return, he alerted the office of the secretary of defense, and later the Congress and the media, to critical equipment shortages. These included mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles, or MRAPs. Gayl’s public outcry exposed the fact that the corps had failed to provide marines in Iraq with life-saving technologies. Yet Gayl has been the target of years of retaliatory investigations, workplace harassment, including the elimination of meaningful duties and extended suspension of his security clearances. In this clip, Gayl explains why he made the fateful decision to save lives by requesting MRAPs to replace Humvees in Iraq. Journalist Seymour Hersh is also in this clip.
FRANZ GAYL: I had to do something. If not me, then who? And if not now, then when? It was one of those situations. And I just said, “No, no, no, no. It doesn’t matter what the consequences are, personal or otherwise, right?” I said, “This needs to be fixed.”
SEYMOUR HERSH: Whistleblowers are just people who say there’s something more important here than my boss or the general or the admiral or the president.
FRANZ GAYL: The most common vehicle used was the Humvee. They were never built to withstand weapons that the insurgents were using, these IEDs.
UNIDENTIFIED: The estimates are that about a third of the casualties in Iraq were due to Humvees.
FRANZ GAYL: Hundreds of Marines were tragically lost, probably thousands maimed, unnecessarily. So I said, “Let’s replace the Humvees with what are called MRAPs, mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles.” The MRAP was bound to save lives.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: That was Franz Gayl in the clip from War on Whistleblowers: Free Press and the National Security State. Robert Greenwald, he was one of the few whistleblowers who actually was able to keep his job, where some of the others have had really terrible times after they did their exposés. Could you talk about that, as well?
ROBERT GREENWALD: Yeah. One of the things that was a common denominator with all the whistleblowers we interviewed is the terrible personal price they paid—even Franz. He was saving lives, literally saving hundreds of lives. He was fired initially. But this is where organizing makes such an incredible impact. Organizations, POGO/GAP got behind him. They worked. People called. They took action. And it really worked. It got him his job back. And it’s important to keep that in mind.
The other cases were horrific. And what is happening over and over again is the Obama administration and previous administrations are literally shooting the messengers—punishing the whistleblowers, trying to pass laws that make it harder for whistleblowers. And look, the only way we find out about the national security state is by these people coming forward.
AMY GOODMAN: Robert Greenwald, part two of this conversation, as we go through the whistleblowers, we’ll post online at democracynow.org. The new film is called War on Whistleblowers: Free Press and the National Security State.
As we wrap up, Juan, you’re headed out after tomorrow’s show to Chicago and Detroit to speak about Harvest of Empire?
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Yes, the film is premiering there at the Gene Siskel Film Center on Friday night, and I’ll be there after the 8:15 showing for a Q&A with the audience, and then at Wayne State University at noon on Saturday.
AMY GOODMAN: And we’ll put all the details at our website at democracynow.org.
Democracy Now!
Filmmaker Robert Greenwald on "War on Whistleblowers: Free Press and the National Security State"
Filmmaker Robert Greenwald on "War on Whistleblowers: Free Press and the National Security State"
Transcript
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: We turn now to whistleblowers and the unprecedented attack they’ve come under during the Obama administration. Evoking the Espionage Act of 1917, the administration has pressed criminal charges against no fewer than six government employees, more than all previous presidential administrations combined.
AMY GOODMAN: A new film directed by Robert Greenwald looks at four whistleblowers who had their lives practically destroyed after they went to the press with evidence of government wrongdoing. They are Michael DeKort, Thomas Drake, Franz Gayl and Thomas Tamm. In the film, Greenwald also interviews government oversight experts and investigative journalists who warn about the chilling effect prosecutions may have on potential whistleblowers and the journalists who help them. This is the trailer of the film, War on Whistleblowers: Free Press and the National Security State.
FRANZ GAYL: I had to do something. If not me, then who? I said, “This needs to be fixed.”
THOMAS DRAKE: I thought about various investigative reporters that I would try and contact.
THOMAS TAMM: Once I put the phone down, I was pretty confident that my life would never be quite the same.
MICHAEL DEKORT: I mean, at the end of the day, right, when you make a decision like this, if you’re not prepared to have the worst happen, then really don’t do it at all.
JANE MAYER: These people face a terrifying situation.
REPORTER: Thomas Drake, accused of leaking classified information. Agents raiding his home in Howard County.
THOMAS DRAKE: Eighteen agents, some of them in body armor, had been banging on our front door.
UNIDENTIFIED: Any time anyone takes a step like that, you know that they’ve probably got something important to say, because they are basically wiping away their career.
DANA PRIEST: There are close to a million people who have top-secret clearance.
MICHAEL DEKORT: The Obama administration had cracked down on whistleblowers.
WILLIAM KELLER: They have indicted more people for violating secrecy than all of the previous administrations put together.
UNIDENTIFIED: The number of people who indicated to us they wish they could talk, but they can’t, because they’re so afraid of what could happen to them, it’s a terrible thing for our democracy.
THOMAS DRAKE: So speaking truth to power is now a criminal act.
AMY GOODMAN: Some of those voices, Thomas Drake and William Keller of The New York Times, as well as Jane Mayer of The New Yorker. This is Democracy Now! The trailer of the new documentary, War on Whistleblowers is what you just watched. We’re joined now by its director, Robert Greenwald, and founder and president of Brave New Films, producer, director and activist.
Why did you make this film? You’ve looked at so many other issues. Why whistleblowers, Robert?
ROBERT GREENWALD: Well, there were a few things that came together. What we always try to do in our films is connect the dots and explore how the system is working. So we had the crackdown on whistleblowers, number one, but it wasn’t without reason. It’s very deeply connected to the growth and power of the national security state, which believes completely in secrets. So we had the whistleblowers. We had the national security state. And then we had some incredible investigative journalists being attacked, investigated, threatened, their careers at stake also. So we put all three of those together and made a film which allows people to understand what’s going on and how deeply threatening it is to us, in a kind of drip-drip way, where you don’t always see or understand what’s happening.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Well, Bob, I want to turn to the case of Franz Gayl, a former marine. While working at the Pentagon as a science adviser for the Marine Corps, Gayl volunteered to deploy to Iraq. Upon his return, he alerted the office of the secretary of defense, and later the Congress and the media, to critical equipment shortages. These included mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles, or MRAPs. Gayl’s public outcry exposed the fact that the corps had failed to provide marines in Iraq with life-saving technologies. Yet Gayl has been the target of years of retaliatory investigations, workplace harassment, including the elimination of meaningful duties and extended suspension of his security clearances. In this clip, Gayl explains why he made the fateful decision to save lives by requesting MRAPs to replace Humvees in Iraq. Journalist Seymour Hersh is also in this clip.
FRANZ GAYL: I had to do something. If not me, then who? And if not now, then when? It was one of those situations. And I just said, “No, no, no, no. It doesn’t matter what the consequences are, personal or otherwise, right?” I said, “This needs to be fixed.”
SEYMOUR HERSH: Whistleblowers are just people who say there’s something more important here than my boss or the general or the admiral or the president.
FRANZ GAYL: The most common vehicle used was the Humvee. They were never built to withstand weapons that the insurgents were using, these IEDs.
UNIDENTIFIED: The estimates are that about a third of the casualties in Iraq were due to Humvees.
FRANZ GAYL: Hundreds of Marines were tragically lost, probably thousands maimed, unnecessarily. So I said, “Let’s replace the Humvees with what are called MRAPs, mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles.” The MRAP was bound to save lives.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: That was Franz Gayl in the clip from War on Whistleblowers: Free Press and the National Security State. Robert Greenwald, he was one of the few whistleblowers who actually was able to keep his job, where some of the others have had really terrible times after they did their exposés. Could you talk about that, as well?
ROBERT GREENWALD: Yeah. One of the things that was a common denominator with all the whistleblowers we interviewed is the terrible personal price they paid—even Franz. He was saving lives, literally saving hundreds of lives. He was fired initially. But this is where organizing makes such an incredible impact. Organizations, POGO/GAP got behind him. They worked. People called. They took action. And it really worked. It got him his job back. And it’s important to keep that in mind.
The other cases were horrific. And what is happening over and over again is the Obama administration and previous administrations are literally shooting the messengers—punishing the whistleblowers, trying to pass laws that make it harder for whistleblowers. And look, the only way we find out about the national security state is by these people coming forward.
AMY GOODMAN: Robert Greenwald, part two of this conversation, as we go through the whistleblowers, we’ll post online at democracynow.org. The new film is called War on Whistleblowers: Free Press and the National Security State.
As we wrap up, Juan, you’re headed out after tomorrow’s show to Chicago and Detroit to speak about Harvest of Empire?
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Yes, the film is premiering there at the Gene Siskel Film Center on Friday night, and I’ll be there after the 8:15 showing for a Q&A with the audience, and then at Wayne State University at noon on Saturday.
AMY GOODMAN: And we’ll put all the details at our website at democracynow.org.
Democracy Now!
Filmmaker Robert Greenwald on "War on Whistleblowers: Free Press and the National Security State"
Filmmaker Robert Greenwald on "War on Whistleblowers: Free Press and the National Security State"
Transcript
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: We turn now to whistleblowers and the unprecedented attack they’ve come under during the Obama administration. Evoking the Espionage Act of 1917, the administration has pressed criminal charges against no fewer than six government employees, more than all previous presidential administrations combined.
AMY GOODMAN: A new film directed by Robert Greenwald looks at four whistleblowers who had their lives practically destroyed after they went to the press with evidence of government wrongdoing. They are Michael DeKort, Thomas Drake, Franz Gayl and Thomas Tamm. In the film, Greenwald also interviews government oversight experts and investigative journalists who warn about the chilling effect prosecutions may have on potential whistleblowers and the journalists who help them. This is the trailer of the film, War on Whistleblowers: Free Press and the National Security State.
FRANZ GAYL: I had to do something. If not me, then who? I said, “This needs to be fixed.”
THOMAS DRAKE: I thought about various investigative reporters that I would try and contact.
THOMAS TAMM: Once I put the phone down, I was pretty confident that my life would never be quite the same.
MICHAEL DEKORT: I mean, at the end of the day, right, when you make a decision like this, if you’re not prepared to have the worst happen, then really don’t do it at all.
JANE MAYER: These people face a terrifying situation.
REPORTER: Thomas Drake, accused of leaking classified information. Agents raiding his home in Howard County.
THOMAS DRAKE: Eighteen agents, some of them in body armor, had been banging on our front door.
UNIDENTIFIED: Any time anyone takes a step like that, you know that they’ve probably got something important to say, because they are basically wiping away their career.
DANA PRIEST: There are close to a million people who have top-secret clearance.
MICHAEL DEKORT: The Obama administration had cracked down on whistleblowers.
WILLIAM KELLER: They have indicted more people for violating secrecy than all of the previous administrations put together.
UNIDENTIFIED: The number of people who indicated to us they wish they could talk, but they can’t, because they’re so afraid of what could happen to them, it’s a terrible thing for our democracy.
THOMAS DRAKE: So speaking truth to power is now a criminal act.
AMY GOODMAN: Some of those voices, Thomas Drake and William Keller of The New York Times, as well as Jane Mayer of The New Yorker. This is Democracy Now! The trailer of the new documentary, War on Whistleblowers is what you just watched. We’re joined now by its director, Robert Greenwald, and founder and president of Brave New Films, producer, director and activist.
Why did you make this film? You’ve looked at so many other issues. Why whistleblowers, Robert?
ROBERT GREENWALD: Well, there were a few things that came together. What we always try to do in our films is connect the dots and explore how the system is working. So we had the crackdown on whistleblowers, number one, but it wasn’t without reason. It’s very deeply connected to the growth and power of the national security state, which believes completely in secrets. So we had the whistleblowers. We had the national security state. And then we had some incredible investigative journalists being attacked, investigated, threatened, their careers at stake also. So we put all three of those together and made a film which allows people to understand what’s going on and how deeply threatening it is to us, in a kind of drip-drip way, where you don’t always see or understand what’s happening.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Well, Bob, I want to turn to the case of Franz Gayl, a former marine. While working at the Pentagon as a science adviser for the Marine Corps, Gayl volunteered to deploy to Iraq. Upon his return, he alerted the office of the secretary of defense, and later the Congress and the media, to critical equipment shortages. These included mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles, or MRAPs. Gayl’s public outcry exposed the fact that the corps had failed to provide marines in Iraq with life-saving technologies. Yet Gayl has been the target of years of retaliatory investigations, workplace harassment, including the elimination of meaningful duties and extended suspension of his security clearances. In this clip, Gayl explains why he made the fateful decision to save lives by requesting MRAPs to replace Humvees in Iraq. Journalist Seymour Hersh is also in this clip.
FRANZ GAYL: I had to do something. If not me, then who? And if not now, then when? It was one of those situations. And I just said, “No, no, no, no. It doesn’t matter what the consequences are, personal or otherwise, right?” I said, “This needs to be fixed.”
SEYMOUR HERSH: Whistleblowers are just people who say there’s something more important here than my boss or the general or the admiral or the president.
FRANZ GAYL: The most common vehicle used was the Humvee. They were never built to withstand weapons that the insurgents were using, these IEDs.
UNIDENTIFIED: The estimates are that about a third of the casualties in Iraq were due to Humvees.
FRANZ GAYL: Hundreds of Marines were tragically lost, probably thousands maimed, unnecessarily. So I said, “Let’s replace the Humvees with what are called MRAPs, mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles.” The MRAP was bound to save lives.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: That was Franz Gayl in the clip from War on Whistleblowers: Free Press and the National Security State. Robert Greenwald, he was one of the few whistleblowers who actually was able to keep his job, where some of the others have had really terrible times after they did their exposés. Could you talk about that, as well?
ROBERT GREENWALD: Yeah. One of the things that was a common denominator with all the whistleblowers we interviewed is the terrible personal price they paid—even Franz. He was saving lives, literally saving hundreds of lives. He was fired initially. But this is where organizing makes such an incredible impact. Organizations, POGO/GAP got behind him. They worked. People called. They took action. And it really worked. It got him his job back. And it’s important to keep that in mind.
The other cases were horrific. And what is happening over and over again is the Obama administration and previous administrations are literally shooting the messengers—punishing the whistleblowers, trying to pass laws that make it harder for whistleblowers. And look, the only way we find out about the national security state is by these people coming forward.
AMY GOODMAN: Robert Greenwald, part two of this conversation, as we go through the whistleblowers, we’ll post online at democracynow.org. The new film is called War on Whistleblowers: Free Press and the National Security State.
As we wrap up, Juan, you’re headed out after tomorrow’s show to Chicago and Detroit to speak about Harvest of Empire?
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Yes, the film is premiering there at the Gene Siskel Film Center on Friday night, and I’ll be there after the 8:15 showing for a Q&A with the audience, and then at Wayne State University at noon on Saturday.
AMY GOODMAN: And we’ll put all the details at our website at democracynow.org.
Democracy Now!
Filmmaker Robert Greenwald on "War on Whistleblowers: Free Press and the National Security State"
Monday, April 8, 2013
"Shadows of Liberty": New Film Explores How Corporate Control of Media Erodes Press Freedoms
Transcript
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: We turn right now to our last segment of the broadcast. We’re here at the National Conference on Media Reform, here in Denver, Colorado. Last night was the premiere of a film that talks about how freedom of the press in the United States is eroding under increasing corporate control. Shadows of Liberty had its U.S. premiere here at the National Conference for Media Reform. Using individual stories of journalists whose attempts to tell their stories have been muzzled by corporations and the government, the film shows how a corporate-controlled media can silence the truth and pave the way to war. The film is directed by Jean-Philippe Tremblay, who is joining us now in Denver. But first we’re going to go to the trailer of Shadows of Liberty.
AMY GOODMAN: All we ever get is a veil of distortion and lies and misrepresentations that obscure reality.
UNIDENTIFIED: Good evening. We have a lot of news to tell you about.
UNIDENTIFIED: Giant media corporations decide what is news and what is not news.
DANNY GLOVER: This is to control people’s ideas. It’s to control their imagination.
UNIDENTIFIED: The news we rely on is in the hands of the commercial enterprises.
UNIDENTIFIED: If it didn’t appear in The New York Times, Fox News, CNN, it never happened.
UNIDENTIFIED: There are certain events in journalism that you may not cover.
ROBERTA BASKIN: There were incidences of physical abuse.
UNIDENTIFIED: CBS decided this is not a story we’re going to fight for.
UNIDENTIFIED: All of a sudden, the plane exploded. And one guy goes, “Oh, you think it’s a missile.”
UNIDENTIFIED: It was a complete act of deceit.
RUPERT MURDOCH: Well, we basically supported the Bush policy.
UNIDENTIFIED: When that many people die, you owe it to them to find out what really happened.
MONTAGE OF VOICES: Spying, censorship, militarism, secrets, corruption, power, lies, profit, profit, profit.
UNIDENTIFIED: This is the mother of all scandals.
AMY GOODMAN: Corporations are making profit off the killing.
UNIDENTIFIED: You cannot go against the White House and survive.
DUANE CLARRIDGE: There has never been a conspiracy.
JULIAN ASSANGE: Wars really are started by the mainstream media.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: That was the trailer for Shadows of Liberty. The film’s director, Jean-Philippe Tremblay, joins us now in Denver. He’s a London-based filmmaker, originally from Quebec. His past films include Journey and Rock Bottom Fill. But this is his first feature documentary.
Welcome to Democracy Now!
JEAN-PHILIPPE TREMBLAY: Thank you very much. It’s a pleasure to be here.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Why did you decide to do this film?
JEAN-PHILIPPE TREMBLAY: We decided to do this film with DocFactory and the Bertha Foundation because we’re dedicated to independent media. The goal was really to make films that change the world. And it became obvious to us that the media is one of the most, if not the most, important subject that we need to deal with today. And that’s why we made the film. I mean, really, we wanted to honor journalists, not only in the States, but from around the world, that are dedicating their lives to bring us truths that we need to hear, about power, about governments, so that citizens can make the right choices for their lives, for their families, and hold power accountable. So that’s why we made the film.
AMY GOODMAN: Jean-Philippe, the examples in your film are extremely powerful. And that’s what we’re going to turn to right now. We’re going to turn to a clip of the film, and this is a clip that involves Roberta Baskin. She is a reporter for CBS. The first story in the film is about this reporter, CBS chief correspondent, who traveled to Vietnam in 1996 to report on labor abuses at Nike factories. This is a clip of Roberta Baskin describing some of what she found.
ROBERTA BASKIN: One of the things that really shocked me was to discover that the word “Nike” had become a verb. The word “Nike” meant to abuse your employees. There were incidences of physical abuse, women who had their mouths taped shut for talking on the line, 15 women who were systematically hit with the top part of a Nike shoe around the face and the neck. It was this disparity between seeing the corporate image that the company sells and the reality in these factories: “Just do it, or else.”
AMY GOODMAN: The report sparked protests and boycotts across the country, as Nike rushed to deny the allegations. CBS asked Roberta Baskin to do a follow-up report. The film explains what happened next.
NARRATOR: As Baskin was putting together the updated news report on Nike’s labor practices, she received unexpected news from inside CBS.
ROBERTA BASKIN: I got a call from my executive producer, who said, “The story is not going to air. It’s been taken off schedule. There’s some sort of deal being made between Nike and CBS News for the upcoming Winter Olympics.” And the air went out of my soul.
BRIAN HEALY: CBS News was paying an enormous amount of money for the rights. And so, by definition, they would be seeking out commercial sponsors who would pour lots of money into it so that they could recoup the millions that they were paying for the rights of the Olympics.
CBS ANNOUNCER: The 18th Olympic Winter Games on CBS.
NARRATOR: As CBS revealed their Olympic coverage, the deal between Nike and CBS was plain to see.
ROBERTA BASKIN: Correspondent after correspondent are wearing these Nike jackets on the air, with a little CBS something or other—you really couldn’t read it—and a big swoosh on the shoulder. That was the deal. Nike had convinced CBS News to turn its correspondents into billboards. It was heartbreaking.
BRIAN HEALY: The CBS News correspondents were furious. They had to wear the Nike parkas whenever they appeared on air. It’s just not done.
NARRATOR: Baskin wrote a memo requesting CBS management to take the Nike logo off the correspondents.
ROBERTA BASKIN: CBS had crossed this incredible line. How do you trust serious stories when you’re seeing the reporter wearing a bunch of logos? Immediately, the president of CBS News responded, saying, “This was a breach of professional etiquette.” It meant that I should shut up. How dare I raise a question about the integrity of CBS News?
AMY GOODMAN: That was Roberta Baskin from the film Shadows of Liberty. You also heard former CBS News producer Brain Healy in that clip. Jean-Philippe Tremblay, why did you choose to open the film with this story?
JEAN-PHILIPPE TREMBLAY: Well, Roberta Baskin is just an example of an amazing journalist. She’s one of the most awarded female journalists here in the United States. She’s won something like over 75 journalistic awards. And the report—the reporting that she does is always trying to tell us what’s happening with power. Here we see an example with the Nike corporation. And because she’s reporting on the Nike corporation, she’s stopped by the very power that she’s working for, CBS News, because they have made a deal with Nike corporation.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, Jean-Philippe Tremblay, we link to Shadows of Liberty at our website and let people know where else it will be premiering in other parts of the world and in this country. As we wrap up our broadcast today, we are very excited to be broadcasting from the National Conference for Media Reform. Jean-Philippe Tremblay is a London-based filmmaker originally from Quebec.
Well, starting at noon Eastern time today, you can watch a live stream of this conference on our website, democracynow.org. Also, Democracy Now! has a job opening, an experienced annual giving manager to build viewer and listener financial support for our daily news hour. Visit democracynow.org for more information.
Thanks to our amazing crew here in Denver Open Media: Tony Shawcross, Ann Theis, Jeremy McKinnon, Chris Haugen, Brandon Stiller, Mike Hancock, Diana Aqra.
Democracy Now!
"Shadows of Liberty": New Film Explores How Corporate Control of Media Erodes Press Freedoms
Sunday, April 7, 2013
"Shadows of Liberty": New Film Explores How Corporate Control of Media Erodes Press Freedoms
Transcript
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: We turn right now to our last segment of the broadcast. We’re here at the National Conference on Media Reform, here in Denver, Colorado. Last night was the premiere of a film that talks about how freedom of the press in the United States is eroding under increasing corporate control. Shadows of Liberty had its U.S. premiere here at the National Conference for Media Reform. Using individual stories of journalists whose attempts to tell their stories have been muzzled by corporations and the government, the film shows how a corporate-controlled media can silence the truth and pave the way to war. The film is directed by Jean-Philippe Tremblay, who is joining us now in Denver. But first we’re going to go to the trailer of Shadows of Liberty.
AMY GOODMAN: All we ever get is a veil of distortion and lies and misrepresentations that obscure reality.
UNIDENTIFIED: Good evening. We have a lot of news to tell you about.
UNIDENTIFIED: Giant media corporations decide what is news and what is not news.
DANNY GLOVER: This is to control people’s ideas. It’s to control their imagination.
UNIDENTIFIED: The news we rely on is in the hands of the commercial enterprises.
UNIDENTIFIED: If it didn’t appear in The New York Times, Fox News, CNN, it never happened.
UNIDENTIFIED: There are certain events in journalism that you may not cover.
ROBERTA BASKIN: There were incidences of physical abuse.
UNIDENTIFIED: CBS decided this is not a story we’re going to fight for.
UNIDENTIFIED: All of a sudden, the plane exploded. And one guy goes, “Oh, you think it’s a missile.”
UNIDENTIFIED: It was a complete act of deceit.
RUPERT MURDOCH: Well, we basically supported the Bush policy.
UNIDENTIFIED: When that many people die, you owe it to them to find out what really happened.
MONTAGE OF VOICES: Spying, censorship, militarism, secrets, corruption, power, lies, profit, profit, profit.
UNIDENTIFIED: This is the mother of all scandals.
AMY GOODMAN: Corporations are making profit off the killing.
UNIDENTIFIED: You cannot go against the White House and survive.
DUANE CLARRIDGE: There has never been a conspiracy.
JULIAN ASSANGE: Wars really are started by the mainstream media.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: That was the trailer for Shadows of Liberty. The film’s director, Jean-Philippe Tremblay, joins us now in Denver. He’s a London-based filmmaker, originally from Quebec. His past films include Journey and Rock Bottom Fill. But this is his first feature documentary.
Welcome to Democracy Now!
JEAN-PHILIPPE TREMBLAY: Thank you very much. It’s a pleasure to be here.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Why did you decide to do this film?
JEAN-PHILIPPE TREMBLAY: We decided to do this film with DocFactory and the Bertha Foundation because we’re dedicated to independent media. The goal was really to make films that change the world. And it became obvious to us that the media is one of the most, if not the most, important subject that we need to deal with today. And that’s why we made the film. I mean, really, we wanted to honor journalists, not only in the States, but from around the world, that are dedicating their lives to bring us truths that we need to hear, about power, about governments, so that citizens can make the right choices for their lives, for their families, and hold power accountable. So that’s why we made the film.
AMY GOODMAN: Jean-Philippe, the examples in your film are extremely powerful. And that’s what we’re going to turn to right now. We’re going to turn to a clip of the film, and this is a clip that involves Roberta Baskin. She is a reporter for CBS. The first story in the film is about this reporter, CBS chief correspondent, who traveled to Vietnam in 1996 to report on labor abuses at Nike factories. This is a clip of Roberta Baskin describing some of what she found.
ROBERTA BASKIN: One of the things that really shocked me was to discover that the word “Nike” had become a verb. The word “Nike” meant to abuse your employees. There were incidences of physical abuse, women who had their mouths taped shut for talking on the line, 15 women who were systematically hit with the top part of a Nike shoe around the face and the neck. It was this disparity between seeing the corporate image that the company sells and the reality in these factories: “Just do it, or else.”
AMY GOODMAN: The report sparked protests and boycotts across the country, as Nike rushed to deny the allegations. CBS asked Roberta Baskin to do a follow-up report. The film explains what happened next.
NARRATOR: As Baskin was putting together the updated news report on Nike’s labor practices, she received unexpected news from inside CBS.
ROBERTA BASKIN: I got a call from my executive producer, who said, “The story is not going to air. It’s been taken off schedule. There’s some sort of deal being made between Nike and CBS News for the upcoming Winter Olympics.” And the air went out of my soul.
BRIAN HEALY: CBS News was paying an enormous amount of money for the rights. And so, by definition, they would be seeking out commercial sponsors who would pour lots of money into it so that they could recoup the millions that they were paying for the rights of the Olympics.
CBS ANNOUNCER: The 18th Olympic Winter Games on CBS.
NARRATOR: As CBS revealed their Olympic coverage, the deal between Nike and CBS was plain to see.
ROBERTA BASKIN: Correspondent after correspondent are wearing these Nike jackets on the air, with a little CBS something or other—you really couldn’t read it—and a big swoosh on the shoulder. That was the deal. Nike had convinced CBS News to turn its correspondents into billboards. It was heartbreaking.
BRIAN HEALY: The CBS News correspondents were furious. They had to wear the Nike parkas whenever they appeared on air. It’s just not done.
NARRATOR: Baskin wrote a memo requesting CBS management to take the Nike logo off the correspondents.
ROBERTA BASKIN: CBS had crossed this incredible line. How do you trust serious stories when you’re seeing the reporter wearing a bunch of logos? Immediately, the president of CBS News responded, saying, “This was a breach of professional etiquette.” It meant that I should shut up. How dare I raise a question about the integrity of CBS News?
AMY GOODMAN: That was Roberta Baskin from the film Shadows of Liberty. You also heard former CBS News producer Brain Healy in that clip. Jean-Philippe Tremblay, why did you choose to open the film with this story?
JEAN-PHILIPPE TREMBLAY: Well, Roberta Baskin is just an example of an amazing journalist. She’s one of the most awarded female journalists here in the United States. She’s won something like over 75 journalistic awards. And the report—the reporting that she does is always trying to tell us what’s happening with power. Here we see an example with the Nike corporation. And because she’s reporting on the Nike corporation, she’s stopped by the very power that she’s working for, CBS News, because they have made a deal with Nike corporation.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, Jean-Philippe Tremblay, we link to Shadows of Liberty at our website and let people know where else it will be premiering in other parts of the world and in this country. As we wrap up our broadcast today, we are very excited to be broadcasting from the National Conference for Media Reform. Jean-Philippe Tremblay is a London-based filmmaker originally from Quebec.
Well, starting at noon Eastern time today, you can watch a live stream of this conference on our website, democracynow.org. Also, Democracy Now! has a job opening, an experienced annual giving manager to build viewer and listener financial support for our daily news hour. Visit democracynow.org for more information.
Thanks to our amazing crew here in Denver Open Media: Tony Shawcross, Ann Theis, Jeremy McKinnon, Chris Haugen, Brandon Stiller, Mike Hancock, Diana Aqra.
Democracy Now!
"Shadows of Liberty": New Film Explores How Corporate Control of Media Erodes Press Freedoms
"Shadows of Liberty": New Film Explores How Corporate Control of Media Erodes Press Freedoms
Transcript
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: We turn right now to our last segment of the broadcast. We’re here at the National Conference on Media Reform, here in Denver, Colorado. Last night was the premiere of a film that talks about how freedom of the press in the United States is eroding under increasing corporate control. Shadows of Liberty had its U.S. premiere here at the National Conference for Media Reform. Using individual stories of journalists whose attempts to tell their stories have been muzzled by corporations and the government, the film shows how a corporate-controlled media can silence the truth and pave the way to war. The film is directed by Jean-Philippe Tremblay, who is joining us now in Denver. But first we’re going to go to the trailer of Shadows of Liberty.
AMY GOODMAN: All we ever get is a veil of distortion and lies and misrepresentations that obscure reality.
UNIDENTIFIED: Good evening. We have a lot of news to tell you about.
UNIDENTIFIED: Giant media corporations decide what is news and what is not news.
DANNY GLOVER: This is to control people’s ideas. It’s to control their imagination.
UNIDENTIFIED: The news we rely on is in the hands of the commercial enterprises.
UNIDENTIFIED: If it didn’t appear in The New York Times, Fox News, CNN, it never happened.
UNIDENTIFIED: There are certain events in journalism that you may not cover.
ROBERTA BASKIN: There were incidences of physical abuse.
UNIDENTIFIED: CBS decided this is not a story we’re going to fight for.
UNIDENTIFIED: All of a sudden, the plane exploded. And one guy goes, “Oh, you think it’s a missile.”
UNIDENTIFIED: It was a complete act of deceit.
RUPERT MURDOCH: Well, we basically supported the Bush policy.
UNIDENTIFIED: When that many people die, you owe it to them to find out what really happened.
MONTAGE OF VOICES: Spying, censorship, militarism, secrets, corruption, power, lies, profit, profit, profit.
UNIDENTIFIED: This is the mother of all scandals.
AMY GOODMAN: Corporations are making profit off the killing.
UNIDENTIFIED: You cannot go against the White House and survive.
DUANE CLARRIDGE: There has never been a conspiracy.
JULIAN ASSANGE: Wars really are started by the mainstream media.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: That was the trailer for Shadows of Liberty. The film’s director, Jean-Philippe Tremblay, joins us now in Denver. He’s a London-based filmmaker, originally from Quebec. His past films include Journey and Rock Bottom Fill. But this is his first feature documentary.
Welcome to Democracy Now!
JEAN-PHILIPPE TREMBLAY: Thank you very much. It’s a pleasure to be here.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Why did you decide to do this film?
JEAN-PHILIPPE TREMBLAY: We decided to do this film with DocFactory and the Bertha Foundation because we’re dedicated to independent media. The goal was really to make films that change the world. And it became obvious to us that the media is one of the most, if not the most, important subject that we need to deal with today. And that’s why we made the film. I mean, really, we wanted to honor journalists, not only in the States, but from around the world, that are dedicating their lives to bring us truths that we need to hear, about power, about governments, so that citizens can make the right choices for their lives, for their families, and hold power accountable. So that’s why we made the film.
AMY GOODMAN: Jean-Philippe, the examples in your film are extremely powerful. And that’s what we’re going to turn to right now. We’re going to turn to a clip of the film, and this is a clip that involves Roberta Baskin. She is a reporter for CBS. The first story in the film is about this reporter, CBS chief correspondent, who traveled to Vietnam in 1996 to report on labor abuses at Nike factories. This is a clip of Roberta Baskin describing some of what she found.
ROBERTA BASKIN: One of the things that really shocked me was to discover that the word “Nike” had become a verb. The word “Nike” meant to abuse your employees. There were incidences of physical abuse, women who had their mouths taped shut for talking on the line, 15 women who were systematically hit with the top part of a Nike shoe around the face and the neck. It was this disparity between seeing the corporate image that the company sells and the reality in these factories: “Just do it, or else.”
AMY GOODMAN: The report sparked protests and boycotts across the country, as Nike rushed to deny the allegations. CBS asked Roberta Baskin to do a follow-up report. The film explains what happened next.
NARRATOR: As Baskin was putting together the updated news report on Nike’s labor practices, she received unexpected news from inside CBS.
ROBERTA BASKIN: I got a call from my executive producer, who said, “The story is not going to air. It’s been taken off schedule. There’s some sort of deal being made between Nike and CBS News for the upcoming Winter Olympics.” And the air went out of my soul.
BRIAN HEALY: CBS News was paying an enormous amount of money for the rights. And so, by definition, they would be seeking out commercial sponsors who would pour lots of money into it so that they could recoup the millions that they were paying for the rights of the Olympics.
CBS ANNOUNCER: The 18th Olympic Winter Games on CBS.
NARRATOR: As CBS revealed their Olympic coverage, the deal between Nike and CBS was plain to see.
ROBERTA BASKIN: Correspondent after correspondent are wearing these Nike jackets on the air, with a little CBS something or other—you really couldn’t read it—and a big swoosh on the shoulder. That was the deal. Nike had convinced CBS News to turn its correspondents into billboards. It was heartbreaking.
BRIAN HEALY: The CBS News correspondents were furious. They had to wear the Nike parkas whenever they appeared on air. It’s just not done.
NARRATOR: Baskin wrote a memo requesting CBS management to take the Nike logo off the correspondents.
ROBERTA BASKIN: CBS had crossed this incredible line. How do you trust serious stories when you’re seeing the reporter wearing a bunch of logos? Immediately, the president of CBS News responded, saying, “This was a breach of professional etiquette.” It meant that I should shut up. How dare I raise a question about the integrity of CBS News?
AMY GOODMAN: That was Roberta Baskin from the film Shadows of Liberty. You also heard former CBS News producer Brain Healy in that clip. Jean-Philippe Tremblay, why did you choose to open the film with this story?
JEAN-PHILIPPE TREMBLAY: Well, Roberta Baskin is just an example of an amazing journalist. She’s one of the most awarded female journalists here in the United States. She’s won something like over 75 journalistic awards. And the report—the reporting that she does is always trying to tell us what’s happening with power. Here we see an example with the Nike corporation. And because she’s reporting on the Nike corporation, she’s stopped by the very power that she’s working for, CBS News, because they have made a deal with Nike corporation.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, Jean-Philippe Tremblay, we link to Shadows of Liberty at our website and let people know where else it will be premiering in other parts of the world and in this country. As we wrap up our broadcast today, we are very excited to be broadcasting from the National Conference for Media Reform. Jean-Philippe Tremblay is a London-based filmmaker originally from Quebec.
Well, starting at noon Eastern time today, you can watch a live stream of this conference on our website, democracynow.org. Also, Democracy Now! has a job opening, an experienced annual giving manager to build viewer and listener financial support for our daily news hour. Visit democracynow.org for more information.
Thanks to our amazing crew here in Denver Open Media: Tony Shawcross, Ann Theis, Jeremy McKinnon, Chris Haugen, Brandon Stiller, Mike Hancock, Diana Aqra.
Democracy Now!
"Shadows of Liberty": New Film Explores How Corporate Control of Media Erodes Press Freedoms
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