Are Wikileaks' actions 'journalism'?
Over at Reddit this morning,
people are discussing whether Wikileaks is a journalistic outlet, and whether Julian Assange, the whistleblowing site’s frontman, is himself a journalist. Here’s my take:
Wikileaks’ release of these documents is most certainly
not journalism. And “journalism” isn’t just summarizing information, as some believe.
By releasing these documents, Wikileaks has given the general public access to information to which they don’t usually have access. Thing is, most people — myself included — don’t know how to put this complex cache of information into a proper context. In other words, they don’t understand the “real world” impact of such a leak, or know how to place the information into a larger picture of the world.
It is the job of the journalist to write an article that puts this information into context, and frames it in a way that anyone can grasp the significance of the information to which they are now privy. That’s what good journalism can do; that’s the service it provides the people. Or, at least, that’s the service it’s supposed to provide.
Now, in this age where “truth” has acquired some sort of relativistic nature, and anyone can dismiss anything with simple yelps of “bias!” I’m guessing many would question that reporter’s facts and motives. They — whoever doesn’t like the picture painted by the facts in the reporter’s story — would say that he/she is leaving out key information in order to promote some agenda.
In other words, many people — even journalists — don’t trust journalism anymore, nor do they understand its purpose. And that makes total sense. At a time when journalism’s foundations have lost their balls and their professionalism, and when outlets like Fox News or bloggers like Michelle Malkin are placed under the journalism umbrella, it’s no wonder people are calling bullshit.
The failings of journalism, I believe, are also what have given Mr. Assange and Wikileaks such a heavy backing of support from the general public (or at least a lack of outrage, which is at least as valuable). People are relieved to get the truth, and to be able to look at that truth without it being subjected to the smeared miscoloration of opinion. If we had a journalism industry that actually worked, the actions of Wikileaks would have a far different tone.
Creeping Jesus
