A really interesting organization launched last night called the Freedom of the Press Foundation, with a slew of prominent individuals involved. For one, there is Glenn Greenwald, one of my favorite journalists active today who used to work for Salon and now writes for the UK’s Guardian. Also on the board is Daniel Ellsberg of Pentagon Papers fame; John Perry Barlow a co-founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation; Xeni Jardin of the Web site Boing Boing; and actor John Cusack. The idea behind the organization is to support and fund unbiased journalism, particularly the kind that governments and intelligence organizations around the world may not like. What really bothered all of the founders involved and served as a call to action was the way WikiLeaks was systematically cut off from the financial system. The Huffington Post writes:
NEW YORK — Not long after WikiLeaks began publishing leaked diplomatic cables in November 2010, the anti-secrecy organization ran into trouble raising money.
Increased government scrutiny and criticism from lawmakers prompted several companies, including MasterCard, Visa and PayPal, to stop processing donations to the non-profit organization. WikiLeaks eventually suspended publication due to the “bank blockade.”
On Sunday, a group of journalists and press freedom activists launched the Freedom of the Press Foundation as a way to crowd-source funding for WikiLeaks and independent journalistic organizations that expose government corruption and advocate for transparency.
In an era where increasingly authoritarian and secretive governments are involved in aggressive attempts to keep the truth from the masses, we must all be extremely thankful for this new foundation and those who were courageous and aware enough start it.
Several mainstream media outlets that covered this story.
The NY Times article is here.
The Huffington Post article is here.
Glenn’s article from the Guardian is here.
In Liberty,
Mike
bothered
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Donated as soon as I read it. Ellsberg has balls the size of Mt Rushmore. If he’s in, I’m in.
John Cusak was a revered friend of the late Hunter S. Thompson—of whom called all of the shennigans of today with some serious journalism and he is the one who eloquentlhy uttered the words “Nixon was the Death of the American Dream.”
It doesn’t surprise me at all to see John Cusak involved in this project. Hunter Thompson said real journalism was dead a long time ago. And how right he was…..