Faculty from the Columbia University School of Journalism wrote a letter to President Obama in January 2011, condemning any criminal charges against Julian Assange associated with WikiLeaks.
The faculty argued he was engaging in journalism, writing; 鈥渨hile we hold varying opinions of Wikileak鈥檚 methods and decisions, we all believe that in publishing diplomatic cables Wikileaks is engaging in journalistic activity protected by the First Amendment. Any prosecution of Wikileaks鈥� staff for receiving, possessing or publishing classified materials will set a dangerous precedent for reporters in any publication or medium.鈥�
But is WikiLeaks journalism?
The organization describes itself as a 鈥渕edia organization,鈥� which causes some to raise an eyebrow with concern.
The Daily Beast writes, 鈥�. But in the digital-media era, new sources of information are being gathered under the more general rubric. One need not view Julian Assange as a journalist to believe that publishing the diplomatic cables is protected under freedom of the press.鈥�
The release of confidential documents obtained by WikiLeaks sparked conversations related to the use of classified information by students as well. In the fall of 2010, some academic institutions encouraged students to shy away from visiting the WikiLeaks website, for fear it would harm their ability to work for the US government in the future.
鈥淓ngaging in these activities [reading and linking to WikiLeaks] would , which is part of most positions with the federal government,鈥� wrote Columbia University鈥檚 School of International and Public Affairs鈥� Office of Career Services, according to Wired. The school, however, did later clarify it was only passing along the guidance of an alum working in the federal government, and as an institution fully supports freedom of speech.
