When a free press attacks a free society
Us writers – in the blogosphere and in print – like to think of ourselves as the vanguard of freedom. The press is the fourth estate and all that. Putting in the public domain something that others would rather hide is applauded as a victory for said freedom.
Its a perspective I have a great deal of sympathy with. Yet there are moments when placing information in the public domain can – in and of itself - constitute a great blow against some of our most important democratic rights. Most significantly, the right to organise.
Last week saw a journalist at the Telegraph go undercover to report on a private and internal meeting of the G20 meltdown coalition. Words that were meant for discussion between comrades were splashed across the national press. Now I am sure there are people who don’t have a problem with this kind of journalism, who see it is simply holding individuals to account for there words and deeds. But this position is tosh.
A free society is one in which people can, not only, say what they want, but also one in which people can get together to organise. This in turn means that groups of citizens – organised in a protest group, a trade union or whatever – must enjoy the right and the ability to discuss things internally and in private. It must mean that people can talk to each other with out talking to the world.
Unfortunately this is a point which is lost not only on the telegraph, but also on some of our friends in the blogosphere most keen to invoke liberty. As some of you will know, Harry’s Place have an appalling record of posting up the internal conversations of Trade Union activists – full names and everything – without a second’s thought for the rights of those involved. I guess the point I am trying to make is this: As unjustified as the great mass of censorshipis , as much as people sometimes need to be called on their shit, it is a mistake to equate liberty with everything being in the public domain. A democratic society must protect the right whisper, and not just the right to yell through a megaphone.
