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WikiLeaks
WikiLeaks has been an ongoing, controversial topic in the journalism world for a while now and continues to be one. It challenges the traditions of media ethics for journalists under the Society of Professional Journalist's Codes of Ethics. Unlike all other journalism organizations, WikiLeaks is able to publish and post private government records and reports because it does not have any headquarters or even a physical address.
It consists of qualified and skilled volunteers who work as Web servers in which they post their stories and findings on the Internet. One of the things they have published, for example, was an edited video of a United States helicopter killing a Reuters photographer and helicopter in Iraq as well as an unedited video of it too. Things like public records of how much the United States government has spent on the war effort versus other aspects have been published in the past as well.
Harming or Helping?
While some may think giving out private government information to the public is the right thing to do, others argue that it is harming our country and its citizens as a whole. According to one of the SPJ'S Code of Ethics, journalism must minimize harm by "balancing the public's need for information against potential harm or discomfort. Pursuit of the news is not a license for arrogance or undue intrusiveness." It all comes down to whether the public really needs the private government information its being given or if that information will do nothing but harm the order and peace of the nation.
It's Our Right To Know
Journalists have been known for a while now as the country's watchdog. According to the SPJ's Code of Ethics for seeking the truth and reporting it, journalists much "recognize a special obligation to serve as watchdogs over public affairs and government. Seek to ensure that the public's business is conducted in the open, and that public records are open to all." This is an idea that tries to prevent the ultimate fear of government corruption. So, in this case, exploiting these government documents for the public to see and make their own judgements on is the right thing to do and what's best for a government run by the people, for the people, and of the people.
Barrett Brown
One of these journalists who have been in trouble with the government, Barren Brown, posted a link to a series of leaked government documents. He was charged with up to 100 years in jail, but that number has dropped to 70. Barrett didn't actually hack or find out this information himself. He simply leaked the information he was able to get his hands on. I think his sentence is completely unreasonable, and leaking information he acquired not by his own undercover means but by someone else's should not be deemed as wrong of him to do.http://bit.ly/1z4twrr
Let Us Have A Say I think the government tries to control what we can and cannot see too much. Although it is important to keep some documents private in order to avoid harm and keep peace within the nation, our government was made for the people to govern it themselves as a whole. Whether people agree with the government' actions or not, protestors against the government's decisions can't technically do anything to change them. The government still has full leadership and say in what they do, and allowing the public to know what they are doing and allowing them to voice their own opinions is not a harmful thing at all.
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