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Abigail Martin

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Abby Martin
BornAbigail Suzanne Martin
EducationSan Diego State University
Occupation(s)Journalist, artist
Notable credit(s)Breaking The Set
RT America
Project Censored
Media Roots
Websitehttp://www.abbymartin.org/

Abby Martin is an American journalist and host of Breaking the Set on RT America network, working at the Washington, D.C. bureau. Before hosting her own show, she worked for two years as a correspondent for RT America ("RT" stands for "Russia Today") . Martin is also an artist and activist, and helped found the citizen journalism website, Media Roots. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Media Freedom Foundation which manages Project Censored. Martin appeared as herself in the documentary film Project Censored The Movie: Ending the Reign of Junk Food News (2013), and co-directed 99%: The Occupy Wall Street Collaborative Film (2013).

Early life

Martin grew up in Pleasanton, California, where she attended Amador Valley High School, graduating in 2002. She became interested in journalism when her high school boyfriend enlisted in the military after the September 11 attacks in 2001. "I didn't want him going to war, let alone fighting in one," she recalls. "I began to critically ask 'What is really going on?'" By the time she was a sophomore at San Diego State University, she began questioning the selling of the Iraq War by the media. She received an undergraduate degree in Political Science and minored in Spanish.

In 2004, she campaigned for John Kerry's presidential campaign, but became disillusioned with the left right paradigm. Martin worked for a time as an investigative journalist for a San Diego-based online news site until moving back to Northern California. In 2008 Martin posted a video showing her support for the 9/11 Truth movement. She has labelled the US government's version of September 11, 2001 as "propaganda". During the administration of President George W. Bush, she said that the attacks were “an inside job” because “I’ve researched it for three years and every single thing that I uncover solidifies my belief that it was an inside job and that our government was complicit in what happened.”

Media Roots

Martin founded the organization Media Roots, a citizen journalism platform for reporting news, in 2009. As an independent journalist with Media Roots, Martin covered the local Occupy Oakland actions during the Occupy Wall Street movement in 2011. Martin reported from deep in the heart of Occupy protests, strikes, shutdowns, and police actions in Oakland, California. Her documentary video footage of Occupy Oakland protests were used by the family of Scott Olsen, a 24-year-old former Marine and Iraq War veteran, in a lawsuit against the Oakland Police Department. Martin's footage was used to argue that the protests were non-violent at the time Olsen was allegedly hit in the head with a police projectile. RT took notice of Martin's work and began using her as a correspondent. In the fall of 2010, she moved to Washington, D.C.

Breaking the Set

Martin began hosting her own show, Breaking the Set, on RT America in September 2012 from Washington, D.C. Breaking the Set is a program that describes itself as "a show that cuts through the pre-written narrative that tries to tell you what to think, and what to care about", and as a show that "cuts through the false Left/Right paradigm set by the establishment & reports the hard facts". The original opening credits depict Martin wearing heels and a cocktail dress while applying a sledgehammer to a television tuned to CNN.

On March 3, 2014, Martin drew widespread media attention when she closed her show with a minute-long statement condemning the Russian military intervention in Ukraine. The official RT Twitter account tweeted a link to a piece by Glenn Greenwald which compared her statement favorably to the behavior of the United States media during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. RT also issued a statement saying: "Contrary to the popular opinion, RT doesn't beat its journalists into submission, and they are free to express their own opinions, not just in private but on the air." RT added: ""e’ll be sending her to Crimea to give her an opportunity to make up her own mind from the epicentre of the story." Martin has reportedly declined: "I am not going to Crimea despite the statement RT has made."

Reception

Journalist Nik Afanasjew of Der Tagesspiegel said Martin, who has attracted a growing American audience with Breaking the Set, looks like a model and acts like a punk. Writer Jeremy Koss describes her as "vibrant, artistic and outspoken".

Selected work

Television
  • Breaking the Set (2012–present), host
  • RT America (2010–2012), correspondent
Film
  • 99%: The Occupy Wall Street Collaborative Film (2013), co-director
  • Project Censored the Movie (2013), as herself
Books
  • Censored 2012: The Top 25 Censored Stories of 2010-11 (2011), contributing author
Radio
Video
  • Media Roots TV (2009–present)
Artwork
  • The Crisis of Civilization (2011), film poster

References

  1. The Huffington Post UK, March 04, 2014
  2. Russia Today news presenter Abby Martin, Daily Mail, March 04, 2014
  3. ^ Koss, Jeremy. (May/June 2013). Real Talk. SOMA Magazine, 27(3): 52-53. ISSN 0896-5005
  4. ^ Priesnitz, Wendy. (Sept/Oct 2011). Media Roots. The Media Beat. Natural Life, 141: 26. ISSN 0701-8002(subscription required)
  5. Huff, Mickey. (2012). Censored 2013: The Top Censored Stories and Media Analysis of 2011-2012. Seven Stories Press. ISBN 1609804236. p. 280.
  6. ^ Huff, Mickey. (2013). Censored 2014: Fearless Speech in Fateful Times; The Top Censored Stories and Media Analysis of 2012-13. Seven Stories Press. ISBN 1609804953. p. 264.
  7. Anderson, John. (January 22, 2013). Review: ‘99%: The Occupy Wall Street Collaborative Film'. Variety. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
  8. ^ Martin, Abby. (March 13, 2012). Presentation on Citizen Journalism. Media Literacy: Corporate Propaganda & Advocating Independent Journalism. Project Censored. San Francisco State University.
  9. Ciardelli, Dolores Fox. (September 6, 2002). Leaving for college. Pleasanton Weekly. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
  10. Mckenty, Doug. (September 12, 2011). Interview with Abby Martin of Media Roots. Thursday Morning Report. KZYX. Event occurs from 1:58—3:26.
  11. Saportas, Oriana. (August 4, 2010). Interview with Abby Martin about Media Roots. Berkeley Community Media. Media Roots.
  12. Kerkman, Cassandra. Mosco, Oskar (ed). (July 31, 2012). MR Founder Abby Martin – Activist Turned Journalist. Media Roots.
  13. Ortega, Tony. "Glenn Greenwald lauds bravery of RT’s Abby Martin, then NY Times outs her as 9/11 Truther", The Raw Story (March 4, 2014).
  14. ^ Ensor, Josie. "Russia Today host who criticised Kremlin sent to Crimea", The Telegraph (March 4, 2014).
  15. Mackey, Robert. "Latest Updates on the Ukraine Crisis; Critical Russia Today Host From ’9/11 Truth’ Movement", The Lede, The New York Times (March 4, 2014).
  16. 'Civil disobedience is the only way to go’. RT. November 18, 2011.
  17. 'Occupy's simple message is key to its success'. RT. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
  18. Martin, Abby. (October 25, 2011). Occupy Oakland: Police Standoff & Brutal Assault, Tear Gas. Media Roots. YouTube. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
  19. Ventura, Tyrel. (August 27, 2013). Abby Martin Discusses Breaking The Set and Her Work at RT. Buzzsaw. TheLip.tv. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
  20. Martin, Robbie. (October 6, 2010). Abby & Robbie Martin Introductions, Obama Administration. Dangerous Conversations. RadioIO.
  21. Bidder, Benjamin. (August 12, 2013). Krieg der Bilder. (English) Der Spiegel, (33): 134-135. ISSN 0038-7452. Bidder's article in Der Spiegel also appeared in other news outlets, such as O Estado de S. Paulo in Brazil.
  22. Breaking the Set. RT. Retrieved January 16, 2014.
  23. Breaking the Set: About. YouTube Channel. Retrieved January 16, 2014.
  24. Rankin, Jennifer. (December 20, 2012). Russia Today chases ratings with controversy. Global Post. Retrieved January 16, 2014.
  25. Austin, Henry. News Anchor Slams Crimea Takeover on State-Funded Russian TV. NBC News. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
  26. Paget, Antonia. "Russia Today host condemns Ukraine ‘occupation’", The Times (March 4, 2014).
  27. Greenwald, Glenn. (March 4, 2014). RT Host Abby Martin Condemns Russian Incursion Into Crimea – On RT. The Intercept. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
  28. "Russia TV host calls Ukraine intervention 'wrong' on-air", BBC News (March 4, 2014).
  29. Afanasjew, Nik. (December 7, 2013). Putins Massenmedienwaffe. Der Tagesspiegel. Retrieved January 15, 2014.

Further reading

  • Huff, Mickey. Phillips, Peter. (August 10, 2012). The state of Occupy, and the attempted censorship of journalist Abby Martin by Congressman Rand Paul. The Project Censored Show. The Morning Mix. KPFA. Event begins at 49:07.
  • Martin, Abby. (2011). Framing the Messengers: Junk Food News and News Abuse for Dummies. In Mickey Huff (Ed.) Censored 2012: The Top 25 Censored Stories of 2010-11. Seven Stories Press. ISBN 1609803582.
  • Martin, Abby. (2011). Media Democracy in Action. In Mickey Huff (Ed.) Censored 2012: The Top 25 Censored Stories of 2010-11. Seven Stories Press. ISBN 1609803582.
  • Staggs, Matt. (December 19, 2012). Abby Martin, Breaking the Set. DisinfoCast 38. Disinfo.

External links

Category:American journalists Category:American women journalists Category:Psychedelic artists