Social Responsibility of Journalism & Media: The WikiLeaks Controversy

Professor Eric Freedman29 September 2011

freedma5@msu.eduEricinlithuania.wordpress.com

Common Themes

• Professional ethical standards in theory and in practice.

• Conflicts between multiple roles of journalists as professionals & citizens.

• Impact of changing communication technologies & economic models on ethical practices.

Lecture Outline

• Background on WikiLeaks, Julian Assange & leaked documents

• Ethical & legal questions • Political factors• Competing values of “free flow of information,”

national interests and government secrets • Reactions to the leaks • WikiLeaks & Arab Spring • Is WikiLeaks a journalistic organization?• Other issues

Julian Assange

Revolution Truth: In Defense of WikiLeaks & Assange

www.youtube.com/watch?v=hd0Z4G8V1uo

President Dalia Grybauskaite & U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

Lithuania in WikiLeaks

• “President Dalia Grybauskaite intervened to prevent the transfer of inmates to Guantanamo” • “NATO has developed a contingency plan for the Baltic states”

Angry Response: Chief Minister Mayawati of India’s Uttar Pradesh state

www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5MbAEBHuoc  

Highlighting Contradictory Positions on Issues: Climate Change

www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1eL3_Q4aVY 

U.S. Newspaper Editorial Cartoon

“Cuba will translate and publish more than 2,000 US diplomatic WikiLeaks cables that pertain to the Communist-ruled island in a bid to highlight US ‘imperialist’

policy.”

Scenes from the Arab Spring