Press freedom debate

There was a very interesting piece on Channel 4 News on Tuesday night about The Guardian's publication of the US security service leaks from Edward Snowden.

First they showed an item about editor Alan Rusbriger being questioned by a parliamentary committee, where MPs suggested that he had behaved unpatriotically and betrayed his country.  Then they followed this up with a very spirited debate between legendary journalist Carl Bernstein and Conservative MP Julian Smith on the limits of press freedom.  The substance of the debate is of interest to us on this module in itself, but the role of Jon Snow as journalist and supposedly neutral interviewer is also worth thinking about.

Incidentally, on the same edition, there were several reports about protests around the world, and a news analysis piece asking 'What is driving the protests in Kiev and Bangkok?' in which Paul Mason links the protests to recent uprisings in Brazil and Turkey, and argues they have been "driven by a rising middle class in opposition to what looks like a brutal and corrupt elite". 


Jen