Working with WikiLeaks
In releasing more than 250,000 classified diplomatic cables last month, the Web-based organization WikiLeaks proved yet again its power to expose. But to put the vast trove of government secrets, ranging from the mundane to the life-threatening, into proper context, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange still needed the traditional media. It was just another case of strange journalistic bedfellows, which has become more common in recent years, said Bill Keller, executive editor of The New York Times, during a discussion on Thursday (Dec. 16). He said it proved that now more than ever traditional journalists have an important role to play in publishing government data in an effective and responsible way. “WikiLeaks was a source. They were not a partner,” Keller told a crowd of reporters and editors from around the country at the Walter Lippmann House. As Times reporters and editors sifted through the cables, they shared valuable leads with the Guardian,...