The End Of the Free Press
The reaction of media personalities, digital media pundits and independent journalists across the western world has been to universally condemn the actions of the U.K authorities in arresting Julian Assange on the 11/April 2019.
Since the 19/06/2012 Julian Assange has been sheltering in the Ecuadorian embassy after he successfully claimed political asylum. For nearly seven years the embassy has been the refuge, and home for the much hunted Australian citizen who shook the foundations of the mighty USA empire, Wikileaks revealed many aspects of today’s world that have given rise to condemnation and strong criticism from the global population.
Wikileaks was founded by Julian Assange, it began publishing in December of 2011; it was actually founded in 2006.
The simple description of Wikileaks of being a “Media company” conceals a much more complex story, the objective of the company has always been to reveal the truth, to offer us access to documents, and information that are ordinarily ‘Top Secret’, hidden from public scrutiny. and basically not open to the public.
This objective involves inviting ‘whistleblowers’ and people who are personally connected with the inner mechanisms of global power, people who want to let us know what is actually happening beyond our reach; this has always been fraught with danger.
The complexity of Julian Assange’s story works against him; it is all too easy to obfuscate, to imply, to suggest unsavory intentions, to present his actions as being malicious and destructive. To a public which is already overwhelmed with the great volume and intensity of today’s political and social world, Julian Assange represents a level of complexity that many will be unable to process.
The story of Wikileaks can be easily accessed on “Wikipedia“, the site which is most often refused entry in most high schools and universities, for being ‘open source’ and not acceptable to the academic authorities, you try using it as a source for your essays, see what happens 😉
It seems that the macro picture of Julian Assange is one that is incredibly distorted, subject to a lot of manipulation and false representation. It is vitally important that we, as alternative media people seek to tell the truth, to offer the clearest account that we are capable of.
Every journalist, and media organization on the planet is jumping on this story, myself included, because this event represents an historical precedent in western social history. A single individual is being punished and held to account for the single reason he allowed the truth to be presented to the public.
This means that you, or I can be also charged with ‘Espionage’ if we dare to deliver information collected from operatives, or players in the global political game that is deemed ‘Top Secret’, or hidden from us.
Lofty principles of journalistic honesty, of the right of a ‘free press’ to operate are being directly threatened here.
What would Joseph John Pulitzer say about all of this, do you think?
The original values of journalism, which were given a sharp focus by men such as Pulitzer have been talked about by a great many, practiced by so few.
The corporate interests, the covert investor boards which under write so many of our well-known media organizations has resulted in a massively compromised ‘mass media’.
This much is painfully true. The emergence of the new types of journalists, the independent writers and analysts which the WWW has enabled to operate represent a new opportunity for these lofty values to be once again demonstrated.
There is a very real danger with the arrest of Julian Assange, for the hype and bluster of envious journalists, of the bad actors among the hack writing communities, for the obviously disingenuous authorities to muddy the waters, to present Assange as being guilty of something, when he is not.
This is the essential part of the story, Wikileaks has not committed any wrongdoing here, it has operated in good faith in providing good quality information; this is why it is being attacked, and why Assange is regarded as being dangerous.
We need to be absolutely clear about this, beyond the complexities and red herrings being offered by the authorities, we need to act as Gordian did, cut through the ridiculous knot of lies and misrepresentation, this is how we as independent journalists and writers can support the truth. The temptation to climb aboard the ‘hype train’ and derive your slice of the media cake should be resisted.
What we have here is a clear case of injustice, plain and simple.
An individual is being singled out for practicing those values which journalists have been claiming as their own since Joseph Pulitzer provided the moral compass for their profession; to see so many of them turning on Assange like a pack of ravening street dogs is appalling.
If you claim to be a journalist, if you present yourself as being a credible political and social analyst then you need to support this man, this organization of Wikileaks as you have never supported anything before. The very foundation and idea of ‘Free Speech’ is genuinely at stake here, they will be coming for you next, it will be your face being stamped on by an official goon’s boot, we are all at risk here. Make no mistake about this.
