Presented By Democracy Now!, Smiley & West And Haymarket Books
While the winner of the 2012 race for the White House might not be known by Thursday, Nov. 8, one thing we will know is that this first post-Citizens United presidential election created a new normal in U.S. electoral politics.
Unprecedented amounts of corporate cash have flooded the process, creating a tsunami of SuperPAC-funded negative ads that only served to distort and disinform the public, diminishing our democracy and deterring participation.
While trading barbs on the narrow range of issues on which they differ, President Obama and Mitt Romney were united in ignoring issues of critical importance to a vast majority of people, from poverty to war and climate change.
Broadcast networks made billions during this election season, while ignoring their obligation to serve the public interest.
What role does the media play in furthering this erosion of our democracy, and how can people organize to ensure that they have a responsible, representative and responsive media, a true public media that treats our airwaves as the vital national resource that they are?
Thursday, November 8th at 7 p.m.
Thorne Auditorium
Northwestern Law School Downtown Campus
375 E. Chicago Ave.
(Two blocks east of Chicago Red Line Stn.)
FREE and open to the public
Doors open at 6 p.m.
RSVP via: EventBrite | Facebook
Join is for an evening of engaged discussion!
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ABOUT THE PRESENTERS
AMY GOODMAN is the host and executive producer of Democracy Now!, a national, daily, independent, award-winning news program airing on over 1,100 public television and radio stations worldwide. Time magazine named Democracy Now! its “Pick of the Podcasts,” along with NBC’s Meet the Press. She most recently co-authored, with Denis Moynihan, the New York Times best-seller The Silenced Majority (Haymarket Books), and has been on a 100-city tour to promote the book and to cover the untold stories of the 2012 election season.
From his celebrated conversations with world figures to his work to inspire the next generation of leaders, broadcaster, author, publisher, advocate, and philanthropist TAVIS SMILEY has emerged as an outstanding voice for change. Smiley is currently the host of the late-night television talk show Tavis Smiley on PBS as well as The Tavis Smiley Show and Smiley & West from Public Radio International (PRI). His most recent book, co-authored with Cornel West, is the New York Times best-seller The Rich and the Rest of Us: A Poverty Manifesto (SmileyBooks).
One of America’s most provocative public intellectuals, CORNEL WEST has been a champion for racial justice since childhood. His writing, speaking, and teaching weave together the traditions of the black Baptist Church, progressive politics, and jazz. The New York Times has praised his “ferocious moral vision.” His many books include Race Matters, Democracy Matters, and his autobiography, Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud. Most recently, he co-authored the New York Times best-seller The Rich and the Rest of Us: A Poverty Manifesto (SmileyBooks) with Tavis Smiley.
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Comments welcome.
Posted on November 5, 2012