In typically idiosyncratic style, David Carr writes in the New York Times – hardly a paper with much respect for Wikileaks for most of this year – outlines the myriad of issues faced by Julian Assange and Wikileaks. Regardless, we must defend transparency in government and challenge the inherent secrecy of “democracies”: Let’s concede that…
Wikileaks
Wikileaks is one of the biggest and most important stories in the world, challenging governments and journalists alike. I’ve been writing extensively about the group since 2006, featured an exclusive interview in 2008 with founder Julian Assange and examined the myriad of issues around the website. Assange himself asked me in the early days whether I wanted to be on the group’s board to vet incoming leaks and determine their veracity before publishing. I agreed but unfortunately this never eventuated.
Why WikiLeaks forces accountability on the insular journalistic and political club
Last week I was invited down to Canberra to give the keynote speech at the Independent Scholars Association of Australia 2011 Conference. It was held at the National Library to an appreciative audience. The following are my notes: -… … … … … … Quote from Julian Assange, The UnAuthorised Autobiography, p. 119/120 + 168 -… … … … … … … What is modern journalism…
Supporting Overland and indy media
Wonderful independent Australian magazine Overland is currently running its Subscriberthon. I was asked to offer some words of support: Independent media has never been more important. Our world is currently experiencing a necessary crisis in confidence in corporate media, corporate governance and capitalism itself. Relying on corporate media to accurately report on this crisis is…
Wikileaks on real role of New York Times in setting media agendas
Julian Assange on The New York Times: Part 1 from NYT eXaminer on Vimeo.
Wikileaks influence and how it’s growing
Who says Wikileaks is on the back foot? In fact, the group remains supported by millions of citizens around the world for giving us the information our media and governments should be offering. Interesting piece in Fairfax today by Philip Dorling on this very point: A trenchant critic of the influence of corporations on political…
Journalists get warning over sources; far safer to speak to Wikileaks than MSM
Christopher Soghoian, a fellow at the Open Society Foundations, writes a stunning piece in the New York Times about the distinct lack of awareness amongst media practitioners about online security. And who really gets it? Wikileaks: Brave journalists have defied court orders and have even been jailed rather than compromise their ethical duty to protect…
Washington loves crony capitalism to protect Israel through Egypt
Great recent piece in the Washington Post on a key source of maintaining the brutal Egyptian dictatorship for so long; the US tax-payer: Beginning two decades ago, the United States government bankrolled an Egyptian think tank dedicated to economic reform. A different outcome is only now becoming visible in the fallout from Egypt’s Arab Spring.…