WikiLeaks was founded in 2006 as an online platform for whistleblowers and the publication of information censored by public authorities and private actors. The Guardian newspaper initially published revelations from Wikileaks. But in the summer of 2013 they were ordered by the Prime Minister David Cameron, to return the Snowdon files and to stop publishing articles based on British top secret leaked material from America’s NSA and the GCHQ. Under the threat of punitive legal action, the Guardian destroyed its own computers under the watchful eye of GCHQ technicians. Then the focus of their reporting shifted.

The recent extradition case of Julian Assange has revealed the media at its most cowardly. It closed ranks around the state by refusing to talk about one of the greatest threats to journalism in recent times. What can we learn from this and how can we prevent it happening in the future?

To discuss this and more Media Democracy Festival is hosting a panel event, live and direct with these excellent guests:

Jennifer Robinson is an Australian human rights lawyer and barrister at Doughty Street Chambers in London practising in the areas of media law, public law, international law and extradition. She has been a member of the legal team acting for Julian Assange and WikiLeaks since 2010. She serves on the Executive Committee of the Commonwealth Law Association, the advisory board of the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights and is a trustee of Article 19. She is also a founding board member of the Grata Fund, Australia’s first independent public interest litigation fund. She has conducted trial observation and human rights missions for the International Bar Association in Malaysia and Syria.

Andrew Fowler is an award-winning investigative journalist and a reporter for the ABC's Foreign Correspondent and Four Corners programs. He has been chief of staff and acting foreign editor of The Australian newspaper and a reporter with SBS Dateline and Channel 7, as well as heading up the ABC's Investigative Unit. His book on Julian Assange is titled The Most Dangerous Man in the World and has just been revised and republished, and his most recent book is Shooting the Messenger: Criminalising Journalism.

Peter Cronau (Co-Editor) is an investigative journalist, and producer for ABC TV's investigative documentary program, Four Corners, and has won numerous journalism awards including the Gold Walkley on the political violence in East Timor in 2006. He has reported for ABC Radio’s Background Briefing, most recently with the ground-breaking documentary “The Base: Pine Gap’s role in US warfighting”. His forthcoming book is titled, The Base: Australia’s secret role in America’s global wars.

Benedetta Brevini is a journalist, media activist and Associate Professor of political economy of communication at the University of Sydney.Before joining the academy she worked as journalist in Milan, New York and London for CNBC and RAI. She writes on The Guardian’s Comment is Free and contributes to a number of print and web publications including Index of Censorship, OpenDemocracyand the Conversation. She is the author of Public Service Broadcasting online (2013) and editor of Beyond Wikileaks (2013). Her latest volumes are Carbon Capitalism and Communication: Confronting Climate Crisis (PalgraveMacmillan, 2017), Climate Change and the Media (Peter Lang, 2018), and Amazon: Understanding a Global Communication Giant (Routledge, 2020). Her new volume“Is AI good for the planet” is forthcoming with Polity in 2021.

Jennifer Robinson (@suigenerisjen)

Peter Cronau (@PeterCronau)

Andrew Fowler (@AndrewJFowler)

Benedetta Brevini (@grnsurveillance)

Catch us on YouTube or Facebook live or after the event.

Youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uKCJJ43_34&ab_channel=MediaReformCoalition