A funny thing happened to me on the way to a panel about confidential sources in Las Vegas last week.
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| Julian Assange |
A colleague asked me if I had heard about Julian Assange. She went on to say that Assange, the founder of the whistle-blower Web site Wikileaks, had cancelled his appearance on the panel, which was part of the annual Investigative Reporters and Editors conference. The Pentagon, it seemed, was looking for him. Read about Assange and why the U.S. wants him here.
At the time, I thought the situation humorous - even dramatic. I imagined FBI and CIA agents had infiltrated the audience in the hopes Assange might appear and they could pounce. I actually got quite a good chuckle out of it and even told my Facebook friends the story.
It wasn't until later - to my embarrassment - that I truly appreciated the dangerous situation Assange was facing. I also realized how the threats against him were a very real example of continued efforts of our government and others to restrict the press - and in the end the limit information the public gets.
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| Daniel Ellsberg |
That notion was underscored by the fact Daniel Ellsberg, who released the Pentagon Papers to The New York Times, also wasn't going to speak at the panel. His attorney advised him an appearance wasn't prudent.
It seemed those efforts to restrict information already were impacting me and hundreds of journalists and, ultimately, hundreds of thousands of our readers.
As a result, I didn't get hear Assange's thoughts on confidential sources, or his ideas and reasoning behind launching Wikileaks. I didn't get to learn about Ellsberg's experiences revealing information that turned out to be one of the most pivotal points in the Vietnam War.
But I did get a lesson in bravery, integrity and honor. Assange's efforts to get information about U.S. operations in the Middle East - including a video of American troops killing Iraqi civilians - to the public were inspirational.
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