The intelligence apparatus has become so complex that at times even elected representatives and the judiciary do not understand its intricacies, Alan Rusbridger, the former Editor-in-Chief of The Guardian , said in Chennai on Monday.
Delivering the inaugural lecture, titled “Journalism after Snowden”, to the Asian College of Journalism’s class of 2016, Mr. Rusbridger said he was “frustrated” at the British political class’ reaction to the paper’s reports on intelligence leaks provided by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden.
The stories revealed how security agencies were using technology to listen in to private conversations of individuals in the garb of protecting security of citizens, and evoked wide-ranging response from across the world.
To drive home his point, Mr. Rusbridger showed the audience a map, which he had made out of his notes, showing an array of issues that the Snowden leaks brought to the fore — from freedom of the press to the privacy of individuals.
But, instead of a serious discussion on the issues raised by the leaks, it was The Guardian that became a target. “The reactions focussed on our role in publishing them,” he said.
Germans, on the other hand, reacted sharply to the exposé, something which may have had a lot to do with the historical context of their country, where regimes used information to suppress people’s rights.
This is where the role of journalists comes in, he said. “The lesson here is that journalism is here to discuss things that politicians find too difficult.”
When The Guardian chose to publish the leaks, there were voices highly critical of its decision. Accusations of undermining national security were made. A few even wondered if the paper had verified Mr. Snowden’s real intentions before going ahead with its reporting. “The answer is that we went by the material we had in hand.”
The paper’s decision was guided by the principle of public interest, a basis of decision-making to be held above everything else. The question, Mr. Rusbridger said, was whether the threat of terrorism today was big enough to sacrifice the accumulated values of freedom and individual liberty.
Climate change
Answering a question from the audience, the renowned editor pointed out that journalists, in their preoccupation with the “immediate,” had not given enough attention to larger issues. There was a feeling that journalism had not done justice to the issue of climate change that, he said, was perhaps the biggest story of our times.
