State of surveillance.

• Author: Conniff, Ruth
• Position: EDITOR'S NOTE - Editorial

Our man in Hollywood, Ed Rampell, brings us two great pieces in this issue. Ed landed an exclusive interview with Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras, who chronicled the story of whistleblower Edward Snowden and NSA spying. She reflects, in this issue, on her own frightening experience as a target of harassment while she was on the Department of Homeland Security's watch list. And she describes her continuing, courageous efforts to reveal the truth about U.S. government surveillance.

Ed also contributes a profile of three Muslim American comedians who are fighting for free speech and defending humor in these grim and paranoid times.

As part of our cover package on surveillance, we are proud to present a thought-provoking essay by Malkia Amala Cyril, founder and director of the Center for Media Justice. This piece is adapted from a speech Cyril gave to The Media Consortium--the association of alternative magazines, which, together with the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies, met at a national conference in San Francisco earlier this year.

Cyril's talk, which brought the audience to its feet, reminded journalists that people of color--including Cyril's mother, a Black Panther--have a long familiarity with government surveillance.

She urged us to "tell the story of Jim Crow policing, not just privacy."

"Rather than singularly focusing on...