Richard Stengel: TIME, Assange, and WikiLeaks

Richard Stengel, editor of TIME magazine, says that TIME's job is not to protect the United States. It's "to publish and be damned."

Free speech comes with responsibilities. This blab and be damned stuff is ridiculous.

Although Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, is a wanted man and in hiding, TIME knew where to find him. Assange is even the magazine's cover boy this week.

I believe Stengel is completely sincere when he says he doesn't care about protecting the U.S., but he clearly cares about protecting Assange.

Stengel claims his duty is to publish anything and everything.

Spilling information that could harm the country and even put American lives at risk doesn't concern him. He takes no responsibility for the fall-out from what is printed in TIME. It's not his problem.

Video.



Transcript, from NewsBusters:

HOWARD KURTZ: Rick Stengel, we'll get to your interview with Assange in just a moment, but I want to ask you about some of the criticism. Here's Max Boot, foreign policy expert, writing in "Commentary" magazine, accusing the news organizations involved in this of collaborating with an accused rapist, says, "The conduct of all concerned is reprehensible and beneath contempt." "This is journalism," he says, "as pure vandalism."

What's your thoughts on that?

RICHARD STENGEL, MANAGING EDITOR, "TIME": You know, our job is to publish and be damned, Howard, and that's what we have done. Those accusations against Assange in some cases are unfair. I mean, the criminal here, if there is a criminal, is Bradley Manning, who is the PFC in the Army who leaked those documents to Assange in the first place.

Our job is to shed light on this. Our job is to give greater transparency and put it in context, as Mark was saying.

KURTZ: But Rick, you say right here in your editor's note in "TIME" magazine that these documents released by WikiLeaks "harm national security," and that Assange meant to do so.

STENGEL: Right. I know. But there's no way around that.

I mean, I believe that's Assange's intention. I believe on balance that they have been detrimental to the U.S. But our job is not to protect the U.S. in that sense. I mean, the First Amendment protects us in terms of releasing this information which does enlighten people about the way the U.S. conducts foreign policy.

Stengel is not doing something noble; but in his liberal elitist bubble, I think he considers himself to be heroic.

The fact is Stengel is one of Assange's soldiers in his war against the U.S.

Bradley Manning leaked documents, but Assange and his army are the ones using them as weapons.

Stengel lies when he says it's his job "to publish and be damned." He doesn't do that.

He withholds the truth and twists the truth, to suit his agenda. He only publishes what fits. Stengel conveniently ignores all the inconvenient truths.

"Publish and be damned"?

Yeah, right.

For someone professing to be compelled to serve the public by publishing the truth without regard for the consequences, Stengel's outright lies and lies of omission become even more reprehensible.
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Read "Julian Assange, Information Anarchist," by L. Gordon Crovitz.