The Wall Street Journal Interviews James D. Scurlock
The 2008 Ridenhour Book Prize winner, James D. Scurlock, was interviewed recently on a Wall Street Journal blog about his chronicle of America's relationship with debt, Maxed Out. In the thick of the plunging Dow, the market crash and the subprime mortgage blame game, Scurlock stands out as one of the few who recognized the pitfalls of the U.S. credit industry. When he was working on the documentary on which his book is based, Scurlock said, "I’d interview people in over their heads in debt. Every one of them would tell me exactly how they’d commit suicide. That shocked me. But when you’re in that situation, it’s very hard to see beyond that. It makes sense to me that the economy is the number one issue now."
Gloria Steinem on the Wrong Woman in Politics
Gloria Steinem, the 2006 recipient of the Ridenhour Courage Prize, recently wrote an op-ed about unsuccessful GOP presidential candidate Senator McCain's choice of VP: Alaska governor, Sarah Palin. This powerful essay from the former Hillary Clinton supporter (Steinem backed Barack Obama) underlined all the reasons why women should not vote for Sarah Palin. On all the issues that matter to women, she has voted against their interests. It is McCain's fault for picking her, Steinem writes, because he chose her to pander to right-wing ideologues.
Bill Moyers Addresses the National Conference on Media Reform
In June 2008, more than 3500 people gathered for the fourth annual National Conference for Media Reform. The participants voiced their opinions in panel discussions and formulated ways they could fight media consolidation and fight for democratization of the airwaves. Organized by the media reform group, Free Press, the highlight of the three-day event was the keynote address by 2008 Courage Prize winner, Bill Moyers, who hosts the weekly PBS program Bill Moyers Journal. Moyers said, "democracy without honest information creates the illusion of popular consent while enhancing the power of the state and the privileged interests protected by it. Democracy without accountability creates the illusion of popular control while offering ordinary Americans only cheap tickets to the balcony, too far away to see that the public stage has become just a reality TV set." |
