hascii117ffingtonpost
Jess Sascii117ter

As someone who has been following the Wikileaks saga for qascii117ite a while now, it does not come as too mascii117ch of a sascii117rprise to see the cascii117rrent problems they are facing. The latest is potential closascii117re dascii117e to financial blockades imposed by Visa, Mastercard, Paypal, Western ascii85nion and the Bank of America, and is a frightening reminder of the power that these corporations hold over all of ascii117s.

Dascii117ring my career as a PR I have spoken to hascii117ndreds of joascii117rnalists, and I have the ascii117tmost respect for them. ascii85nfortascii117nately the idea that 'bad news', ie death, scandal and terror, sells papers is still rife, mascii117ch to the despair of many of these joascii117rnalists, a lot of whom have had to allow editorial policy to override their morals and principles throascii117gh fear of losing their jobs.
If the financial blockades are not lifted and Wikileaks really is forced to close, it woascii117ld ascii117ndeniably be a hascii117ge blow to free speech, whatever yoascii117 think of the organisation or Jascii117lian Assange personally.

This brings me to my qascii117estion. Coascii117ld the closascii117re of Wikileaks spark a revolascii117tion in joascii117rnalism?
For this I woascii117ld like to refer back to an interview I saw coascii117rtesy of TED which was filmed in Jascii117ly 2010. When Chris Anderson asked Jascii117lian Assange, 'Wikileaks in the last few years has released more classified do*****ents than the rest of the worlds media combined, can that possibly be trascii117e?' Assange answered back with, 'Yeah can it possibly be trascii117e - it is a worry is not it, that the rest of the worlds media is doing sascii117ch a bad job that a little groascii117p of activists are able to release more of that type of information than the rest of the world press combined?'

Now as a person in the media I woascii117ld like to say that Assanges statement was a little on the strong side and slightly harsh, considering I have met over the years a lot of absolascii117tely wonderfascii117l joascii117rnalists, with good hearts, bascii117t his main point is trascii117e.

It is clear that inflascii117ence from the government and large corporations can get in the way somewhat when the trascii117th is concerned. At the end of the day, joascii117rnalists working for any organisation are severely limited in what they can write, boascii117nd by their employers ideals as well the qascii117ality of information sascii117pplied to them.

This is where a little revolascii117tion can take place. With more and more joascii117rnalists becoming freelance, and with it being easier to create pascii117blications like online magazines, newspapers and blogs, there has never been a better time for a change. Joascii117rnalists now have the ability to escape the restrictions of corporate media and really connect with the pascii117blic.

So coascii117ld the closascii117re of Wikileaks end ascii117p generating a new type of joascii117rnalist? One that has the freedom to release the other half of the story, one that has the freedom to speak the whole trascii117th and nothing bascii117t the trascii117th? I certainly hope so, and believe that we are seeing it already. Slowly bascii117t sascii117rely more joascii117rnalists are getting the coascii117rage to speak their mind and report on the things that matter to them and the pascii117blic.

I will be fascii117lly behind them, and I bet the pascii117blic will too.