Amy Goodman was born on April 13, 1957. She is an American broadcast journalist, author, investigative reporter, and syndicated columnist. Her father, George Goodman, was an ophthalmologist, and her mother, Dorothy, was a literature teacher who later became a social worker. Raised in an Orthodox Jewish family, Goodman grew up in Bay Shore, New York.
She graduated from Bay Shore High School in 1975 and later earned a degree in anthropology from Radcliffe College in 1984. Her early exposure to social and political issues informed her career in independent journalism.
Goodman gained international attention in 1991 when she and fellow journalist Allan Nairn covered the independence movement in East Timor. While reporting on the Santa Cruz Massacre, the two were severely beaten by Indonesian soldiers after witnessing the attack on peaceful demonstrators.
In 1998, Goodman and journalist Jeremy Scahill produced the award-winning documentary Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria’s Oil Dictatorship, which investigated Chevron Corporation’s involvement in a violent conflict between Nigerian soldiers and villagers protesting oil extraction operations. The piece earned critical acclaim for its in-depth reporting and impact.
Amy Goodman served as the news director at Pacifica Radio station WBAI in New York City for nearly 10 years. In 1996, she co-founded Democracy Now! The War and Peace Report, an independent news program focused on global news, politics, and social justice. Although the show was briefly taken off the air in 2001 due to internal conflicts at Pacifica Radio, it was soon resumed and continued to broadcast widely, gaining a global audience and recognition for its independent reporting.
In 2008, during the Republican National Convention, several of Goodman's colleagues were arrested while reporting on anti-war demonstrations. That same year, while traveling to speak at the Vancouver Public Library in Canada, Goodman was detained at the Douglas border crossing for 90 minutes and was issued a document requiring her to leave the country within 48 hours.
Amy Goodman has received numerous awards honoring her contributions to journalism. In 1993, she received an award for international reporting. She was also honored with the George Polk Award in 1998 for her work on the Chevron-Nigeria documentary. In 1999, she declined the Overseas Press Club Award, citing concerns over the organization's links to U.S. foreign policy interests.
Among her many accolades, she received the Council on American-Islamic Relations Award on October 2, 2004, and the Thomas Merton Award on November 18, 2004. In 2008, she was awarded the Right Livelihood Award, often referred to as the "Alternative Nobel." On March 31, 2009, she became the first recipient of the Izzy Award for independent media excellence. Goodman was also honored with the Gandhi Peace Award, and was awarded honorary Doctor of Letters degrees from DePauw University in 2012 and Purchase College in 2014.
In 2015, the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University presented her with a lifetime achievement award for her impactful and independent reporting career.
| Birth Date: | 13 Apr, 1957 |
| Age: | 63 yrs |
| Citizenship: | United States of America |
| Birth Place: | Washington, D.C. |
| Gender: | Female |
| Net Worth 2021: | 3 million |
