Anonymous Comments On Current Way OF Reporting

• Report rights infringement
• published: 29 Jul 2013
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The work of an intellectual is not to mould the political will of others; it is, through the analyses that he does in his own field, to re-examine evidence and assumptions, to shake up habitual ways of working and thinking, to dissipate conventional familiarities, to re-evaluate rules and institutions and to participate in the formation of a political will (where he has his role as citizen to play). - Michel Foucault, "The Concern for Truth" The real political task in a society such as ours is to criticise the workings of institutions that appear to be both neutral and independent, to criticise and attack them in such a manner that the political violence that has always exercised itself obscurely through them will be unmasked, so that one can fight against them. - Michel Foucault, " Human Nature: Justice Versus Power " My point is that the mainstream press in countries such as Sweden, the United States and the United Kingdom, have (more often than not) failed to engage in critical investigations into, and analyses of, the accumulation and utilisation of power. So, what does this have to do with journalism? A lot, I would argue. Many of the issues with which we (should) associate academia - freedom of speech, freedom of expression, critical thinking, keeping an eye on authority, education - are issues historically linked to journalism. Thus, just as it is important to ask to what extent we as academics have investigated, questioned and challenged the distribution and use of social, economic and military power in society, so, of course, should we ask the same of the news organisations described as "watchdogs" and "guardians". My point is that the mainstream press in countries such as Sweden, the United States and the United Kingdom, have (more often than not) failed to engage in critical investigations into, and analyses of, the accumulation and utilisation of power. And, it is this failure that has created a vacuum filled, at least in part, by WikiLeaks and Anonymous. If we are looking for an obvious example of such a failure of critical analysis, one need only look to the attacks by a number of US journalists upon fellow journalist Glenn Greenwald - for a particularly devastating exchange, see Greenwald's response to Washington Post columnist Walter Pincus - and source Edward Snowden following their revelations of domestic and international surveillance by the US government . In Sweden, the Swedish vetoing (together with the UK) of EU discussions with the US over those same NSA revelations has been met by relative silence in the Swedish media. There is, however, a second premise to this post, and that is that in our discussion of groups such as WikiLeaks or Anonymous, emphasis is often placed squarely upon their use of technology, rather than the socio-political and cultural motivations behind their actions. This techno-centrism, I would argue, deflects a measure of critique away from mainstream journalism, and "explains" the rise of groups such as WikiLeaks and Anonymous as predominantly technological phenomena. In other words, they exist because the technology allows them to exist. To get back to Foucault: his suggestion that we need to " criticise the workings of institutions that appear to be both neutral and independent " is vital; in particular, his choice of the word "workings", because it points to a central idea, namely the importance of process . Where contemporary journalism has failed, I would argue, is in the lack of exposure and lack of analysis of the mechanisms of power that Foucault discusses. These are mechanisms that are neither sexy nor exciting, and can be mind-numbing in terms of the minutiae of political, legal, diplomatic or technological details. These details are, however, the building blocks of real power: blocks mostly obscured from public view under a veneer of PR, spin, infotainment and "event"-based news coverage. Over the past few years, and to varied levels of success and impact, groups such as Anonymous and WikiLeaks have peeled back this veneer, exposing activities that are both shocking and banal. In his powerful testimony of July 10, 2013 at the Bradley Manning trial , Harvard Law Professor Yochai Benkler outlined precisely why he feels that WikiLeaks is not only a compliment to journalism, but part of journalism itself, "shining a light" on processes otherwise hidden from the general public (from the unofficial court transcript): Q: Is WikiLeaks a member of the networked Fourth Estate? A (Benkler): Absolutely. Q: Why do you believe that?