Democracy NOW! 4-15-09

• Report: Under CIA Pressure, Obama to Withhold Parts of Torture Memos
• Gitmo Prisoner: Torture Has Worsened Under Obama
• Obama Addresses Economic Crisis
• Survey: More Pay Rises than Cuts for US CEOs
• DHS Links Right-Wing Extremism to Recession
• Iran Begins Secret Trial for Jailed Iranian American Journalist
• Haiti Appeals for International Aid
• Bolivian Lawmakers Approve Electoral Reform
• Germany Bans Monsanto Crop
• Study: Worst of Global Warming Can Be Avoided
• Tax Resisters to Hold Day of Protest

Pacifica Radio at 60: KPFA Remains a Sanctuary of Dissent Six Decades After Its Founding

Today marks the sixtieth anniversary of Pacifica Radio. On April 15th, 1949 at 3:00 p.m., a charismatic conscientious objector named Lewis Hill sat before a microphone and said, “This is KPFA Berkeley.” With that, KPFA went on the air, and the first listener-supported radio station in the United States was born. Pacifica Radio is the oldest independent media network in the United States, and its sixtieth birthday comes as a deepening crisis engulfs mainstream media. To commemorate the sixtieth anniversary of Pacifica Radio today, we feature a documentary about the first Pacifica Radio station: KPFA in Berkeley. It’s called KPFA on the Air by filmmakers Veronica Selver and Sharon Wood and narrated by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alice Walker. [includes rush transcript]