Author: GRITtv

GRITtv's "old" graphic has been replaced by a spiffy new one; be sure to check it out at http://GRITtv.org!

After nearly two years with the wonderful FireDogLake crew, GRITtv has launched its brand-new website at http://grittv.org.

We launched May 12, 2008 with a vision for bridging the worlds of old and new media, broadcasting on Free Speech TV (on the Dish Network ) and on cable and public television stations nationwide, as well as online.

GRITtv’s new site, with comprehensive archives and a live, daily stream, will give viewers the tools to find out more about topics and guests and plenty of ways to take action and get involved. GRITtv’s new site makes sharing and re-posting of video content easy, and offers multiple ways to exchange ideas with other viewers, as well as to contribute material for the show.

Recent guests on GRITtv include musician and activist Kathleen Hanna, author Raj Patel, MSNBC contributor Melissa Harris Lacewell, Governor Howard Dean, actor Danny Glover, Nobel Prize winner Wangari Maathai, and The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg. Discussion topics range from analyses of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Israel/Palestine, public housing and health care, to reflections on Obama’s presidency, new media, new labor, new feminism, and visions for rebuilding Haiti. We’ve brought together labor activist Ed Ott with tea party leader Michael Johns for a debate, forrmer evangelical Christian Frank Schaeffer with atheist Susan Jacoby for discussion of reason, or the lack of it in American politics. Muckrakers Glenn Greenwald and Jeremy Scahill laid out their visions for the future of journalism.

The support of the wonderful FireDogLake team has meant a lot to us in our time here, and we look forward to a continuing friendship with everyone! Many of them have been guests on our show in the past–including Jane Hamsher, Marcy Wheeler and Spencer Ackerman–and we plan on having them all back soon!

In the shifting media landscape, Laura Flanders and GRITtv are breaking new ground and creating a new model for broadcast and online media. Thank you for your continued support and interest. We look forward to your feedback!

Laura and the entire GRITtv Crew

Tags: Grittv, laura flanders

The Bush administration thrived on secrecy; Obama promised more transparency, but has yet to really deliver. What’s more, when information does come out, it seems that accountability is nearly impossible to get: the torture memos were released, but there will be no trials. We ask Daniel Ellsberg, one of the world’s most famous whistleblowers, and blogger Glenn Greenwald of Salon.com if there’s anything the people can do to take the power back.

Not long ago on GRITtv, Hamid Dabashi told us that the Iranian protests are turning into a civil rights movement with long-term potential for change. We’ll talk to Hooman Majd, Hadi Ghaemi, and Kelly Golnoush Niknejad at noon about the protests, the regime, and what happens next.

Also, President Obama made news with his question and answer session with Congressional Republicans. Now he’s planning a televised health care summit with the GOP. We ask Mother Jones’ David Corn if this new strategy will work, and why he’s calling for more question time.

Discussions on the future of journalism are happening so often now that they’re almost trite. But Robert McChesney, John Nichols, Tracy Van Slyke and Kate Giammarise are not only interested in saving journalism; they’re interested in having all of us have a say. They’ll join us at noon to discuss.

Nichols and McChesney have a new book out, The Death and Life of American Journalism: The Media Revolution that Will Begin the World Again that documents the decline of the commercial press and makes the case for publicly-funded media, and Van Slyke has a book out as well, co-authored with Jessica Clark, Beyond the Echo Chamber: How a Networked Progressive Media Can Reshape American Politics, documenting the rise of a new media culture. Giammarise is featured in Nichols and McChesney’s book and since being laid off from the Toledo Blade has founded Rustwire.com.

If you can’t get enough of this discussion, and you’re in New York, come see Laura with Nichols, McChesney, Pamela Newkirk and David Carr at the Society for Ethical Culture TONIGHT at 7 PM. It’s free! (If you’re not in New York, don’t despair, we’re taping the event and it should show up on GRITtv soon!)