Annotated Bibliography

Goldsborough, R., (2010). The New Age of Investigative Journalism? Teacher Librarian 38, (2) p.57. E L Kurdyla Publishing LLC

This fairly brief article by Reid Goldbsorough examines the rise of wikis and blogs in mainstream media and the subsequent decline in investigative-style journalism that used to be found in traditional print media. He mentions the whistleblower organisation Wikileaks as filling the void of the ‘fourth estate’ currently absent in most online media (fourth estate meaning media acting as a guardian to interests of the public), though, on the whole, Goldsborough views Wikileaks more as a site for dumping data than investigative journalism in a traditional sense.  On the Wikileaks site people view the posted data for themselves and come to their own conclusions about the information presented to them, instead of reading a specific story with a narrative edited by a skilled journalist. Like Peter Juke’s blog for the Daily Beast, this article presents facts in a refreshingly balanced manner that sheds light on both the negative and positive aspects associated with Wikileaks. For example, regarding the leaking of diplomat cables, Goldsborough acknowledges that citizens have to right to know what their diplomats are up to, but also believes that too much transparency can hinder the effectiveness in which diplomats can effectively perform their roles. The article collates a number of memorable quotes that condemn and praise the organisation but perhaps the ultimate  shortcoming of this peer reviewed article is that it refuses to accept a strong position itself on the topic.

Juke, P., (2012 August 19) Assange makes his case in London Embassy Speech. The Daily Beast. Retrieved from: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/08/19/assange-makes-his-case-in-london-embassy-speech.html. 

Written by Peter Juke, this blog for liberal online newspaper The Daily Beast was published after Assange’s address outside the Ecuadorian embassy in London in August 2012.  The author delivers a fairly balanced piece that doesn’t pander too much to the political inclinations of its target audience. While Juke does begin his blog by cringingly likening Assange’s speech to Eva Peron’s iconic address to Argentina many years ago, he balances these favourable comments with several critical remarks from former work colleagues who find Assange’s request for transparency ironic considering his own deeply controlling nature; the credibility of Ecuador as a free speech advocating nation is also doubted by the author, who mentions that Sweden (the country that Assange fears to revisit) has a much better track record of press freedom than the South American country.  Regarding the speech, Juke believes Assange is at his most inspiring when events outside of his own recent hardships are brought up (such as the recent imprisonment of Russian girl group Pussy Riot and US Marine Bradley Manning), allowing for less martyr-like self sympathy and more open condemnation of government secrecy in the modern age. Juke concludes by saying that while the speech will satisfy the converted Wikileaks supporters, Assange’s future still remains an uncertain one.

Henderson, G (2012 July 3) WikiLeaks founder does not merit a different set of rules, Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved from: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/by/gerard-henderson.

This article from conservative commentator Gerard Henderson focuses on Julian Assange’s flee to the Ecuadorian embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden on rape allegations. A regular panellist on ABC’s Insiders program, Henderson comes across as fairly moderate on most current issues, however his article on Assange paints a very negative portrait of the whistleblower. After outlining the facts regarding Assange’s house arrest situation in  London , the author refers to the earlier events that have led to Assange’s current predicament, namely the allegations in Sweden. However, Henderson fails to mention that no formal charges have been made against Assange, or that the definition of ‘rape’ in Sweden does not necessarily correlate with the Australian usage. Additionally, the fact that Assange, as covered in Phillip Adam’s Late night live interview, has had his bank account frozen, as well as his sponsorship by American companies Mastercard and Paypal revoked, Henderson’s argument that Assange is overreacting would be much less convincing. Instead Henderson conveniently skips over these details to retain strength to his opinion. The story also stoops to baseless insults, calling Assange a ‘narcissist’ and ‘hypocrite’, as well as criticizing Australian citizens who support Assange’s cause.  Published as an opinion piece for the Sydney Morning Herald, this particular format allows for the opinion of the author to intertwine with factual research. Whereas a regular news article is required to present facts and events in a balanced manner, opinion columns such as these allow for the author to inject their own political views into the mix.

 

Adams, P., (2012 June 6) Julian Assange: what next? Late night live, ABC Radio National. Retrieved from: http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/latenightlive/julian-assange---what-next3f/4055974.

Journalist Phillip Adams’s June interview with Julian Assange on his ABC Radio National program is an insightful, detailed conversation that covers a lot of ground.  The interview was conducted two weeks before Assange’s flee to the Ecuadorian embassy and captures an agitated Assange who, at that point, had been under house arrest in London for over 540 days.  Adams is a left leaning commentator and a self-professed supporter of Assange’s cause, so the interview is conducted in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere between two individuals who clearly respect one another.  Adams refrains from bringing up any controversial aspects to Assange’s legacy, instead focusing heavily on the negligence of the Australian government and the alleged witch hunt headed by US to bring Assange to justice.  In general, listeners of Radio National are on the left side of politics, so support for Assange would be much higher than  an audience listening to Alan Jones or John Laws.  Compared to Gerard Henderson’s article, which chooses to brush aside fact in favour of baseless insults, Adams’s interview focuses on the lesser known aspects of Assange’s situation, such as his inability to have a bank account in his name since being branded a ‘politically exposed person’, Sweden’s unjustifiable insistence that Assange appear in person for questioning, and the secret jury operating in Virginia slowly building a case against Wikileaks. While non-supporters such as Henderson are adamant that the idea of US government conspiracy against Assange is ludicrous, facts such as these illuminate the listener as to why Assange is so fearful for his life.