As a writer and a once-and-future journalist, I find the whole WikiLeaks phenomenon fascinating. Not so much because of the content--it's all stuff we more or less knew already, with the leaks confirming the obvious.
No, there are two fascinating aspects for me. First, the process: what used to require, months, even years of cultivating sources by a journalist now comes spewing out in a nanosecond, and we can't even keep up with the information.
Secondly, I think the sheer volume of information makes journalistic judgment more difficult than ever. This judgment was always about choices--what is most significant, what is most interesting, what is a good combination of the two. Now there is just too much information all at once to deal with, and it makes judgment a problem.
I may write more about this...
No, there are two fascinating aspects for me. First, the process: what used to require, months, even years of cultivating sources by a journalist now comes spewing out in a nanosecond, and we can't even keep up with the information.
Secondly, I think the sheer volume of information makes journalistic judgment more difficult than ever. This judgment was always about choices--what is most significant, what is most interesting, what is a good combination of the two. Now there is just too much information all at once to deal with, and it makes judgment a problem.
I may write more about this...