WikiLeaks

Well, it will certainly be interesting how the “Press” will be dealt with concerning the WikiLeaks issue. As a journalist I can see the temptation to publish some of the documents, however, I don’t think it will serve the greater good for our profession. So close to a new Shield Law that may now be compromised by the actions of those publications posting the documents. I believe we may have won a very small victory at the cost of the war. The public in general will see this as one more reason not to trust the press. Imagine trying to get confidential information from a source who will be more than ever wondering when he/she will be sold down the river by the journalist or his publication.

Thoughts?

by Barry D Kirsch at 2010-12-01 02:01:12 UTC | Bookmark | | Report spam→

I don`t think the question is not the act of leaking information in this case, per se. My impression is that no state secrets have been exposed. It is the nature of diplomacy of the US and other countries being exposed. I am all for it. I have not read the leaked documents themselves, but I have read the quotes in an Austrian paper. They have the statistics from which countries the diplomatic cables originated, for example. I have to admit that I don`t have the time to read everything in the paper.

I expect that the diplomats in the future would use the languages appropriate for diplomatic cables and the languages for private conversations.

by Tomoko Yamamoto | 01 Dec 2010 09:12 | Vienna, Austria | | Report spam→

These commentaries published in the Guardian would provide an interesting reading.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/nov/29/us-embassy-cables-middle-east

by Tomoko Yamamoto | 02 Dec 2010 09:12 | Vienna, Austria | | Report spam→

The WikiLeaks provide and extraordinary insight into the thought and action of the US government; certainly more insight than we get from political speeches and press conferences. It would be interesting to have the same kind of information from other governments but, then, many other governments do not offer the same press freedoms that are found in the US.

by Barry Milyovsky | 09 Dec 2010 01:12 | Manhattan, United States | | Report spam→

Actually the “press” has an opportunity. It’s to go thru the documents and actually help the reader understand what’s in the leaks and how relevant it is (or isn’t) to them. Only media like the NYTimes and The Guardian have the resources to do the amount of reading and research and interpreting necessary to make this useful to the public. For instance few can read diplomatic dispatches and make sense of them. If anybody’s not to be trusted, it’s the USA State Department that apparently is so porous that all that stuff can be downloaded.

by John Robert Fulton Jr. | 09 Dec 2010 13:12 | Spring Lake, Michigan, United States | | Report spam→

Here is an interesting article about the background information on WikiLeaks and international press organizations.
http://www.argus-press.com/news/international/article_b512e96c-3c05-54e6-a2bf-d5e58f68993d.html

I found an old news supporting WikiLeaks as of November, 2010, journalists signing support

I found the above by googling, but I was really looking for a statement defending the leaks by an international press or journalist organization based in Belgium or somewhere like that in Europe. WikiLeaks provides certainly a treasure trove of information about how the US views the world. If more is known about how the US works with the world based on a US view of the world, I think it would be better for the world. As it is, the world is so controlled by the US and its view of the world.

by Tomoko Yamamoto | 09 Dec 2010 15:12 (ed. Dec 9 2010) | Vienna, Austria | | Report spam→