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Those actually seem to confirm my view. They don’t talk about Assange writing a story, or editing reports.

They talk about Wikileaks, his publishing organization, working as a peer in cooperation with the NYT, the Guardian, and other publishers. They describe his priorities and concerns and the protocols he wanted to use.

All of these are consistent with Assange as the creator of Wikileaks standing as a publisher.

Also, that testimony looks very good for Assange.



I was trying to illustrate that he was exhibiting editorial discretion over a very bulk and voluminous material. That makes him an editor, on behalf of Wikileaks as the publisher. You might argue that an editor that didn't come from a journalistic background is not a journalist, but I think others feel differently.

I'm pretty sure I read in the articles covering the hearings that some journalist organizations were claiming he is one. Found a mention in day 8 of the hearings reporting (search for mentions of Chelsea Manning): https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2020/09/your-man-in-...


Given that he is the creator and head of Wikileaks, he can be seen as a publisher who directs editorial policy (as many publishers do).

I’m not arguing that he’s not involved in editorial decisions.

I am arguing that it’s misleading to call him a journalist. That’s not why he matters.

People are calling him a journalist because they hope it will save his life. I hope it does too.

I just think that if we care about his overall goal, we should see him as a publisher - because that’s the work he has done that matters.




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