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Madison, Wisconsin “Shaken” by Shooting at Community Radio Station WORT-FM

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It’s been three days since a masked gunman opened fire on a Madison community radio station early Sunday morning, injuring one person. A station DJ who was shot in the buttocks was taken to the hospital and later discharged. No arrests have been made. WORT-FM is a member-controlled community radio station broadcasting to South Central Wisconsin that has been on the air since 1975. The Madison police say they do not believe the attack was motivated by hatred of the media. We speak with political writer John Nichols on the community response to the shooting.

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This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AMY GOODMAN: And before we end, I wanted to ask you about what happened in Madison, where you are right now, in Madison, Wisconsin, a masked gunman opening fire in Madison community radio station WORT early on Sunday morning, in the middle of the night, injuring one person. A station DJ was shot, taken to the hospital, later discharged. The police say that this was—they don’t believe the attack was motivated by hatred of the media. WORT, a member-controlled station in South Central Wisconsin. Can you tell us any more about what took place?

JOHN NICHOLS: Yeah. I mean, it was a shocking incident. And it did happen in the middle of the night, and so it was one that people had to catch up with, to some extent. The police have said that they do not think it was an attack on—directed at media or a politically motivated attack. They’re still searching for the attacker. The station said that it got some prank calls, but that it had not had, you know, the sort of direct threats that might tie it, again, to politics or some sort of anti-media, anti-WORT sentiment. But it still has to be investigated.

And you’re right to focus on this. WORT is a station that really has reached far beyond Madison. It’s been, for many, many years, one of the leading independent community stations maintaining a news operation. Just this week, later this week, WORT will sponsor a debate between the candidates for governor. So it’s a big-deal station. And this attack has really shaken a lot of people.

AMY GOODMAN: Well, we want to thank both of you for being with us, John Nichols of The Nation, talking to us from Madison, Wisconsin, and Zaid Jilani of The Intercept, speaking to us from Washington, D.C.

This is Democracy Now! When we come back, we’ll be speaking to a mother and her son, just newly reunited after almost 40 years. Stay with us.

[break]

AMY GOODMAN: Youth singing at a sit-in at California Governor Jerry Brown’s office Tuesday demanding action on climate change, as the largest fire in California history burns uncontrollably. The Mendocino Complex fire has already scorched an area the size of Los Angeles.

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