Investigative Journalism !

When Federal police officers served search warrants to enter the offices of the ABC at Ultimo it raised the spectre of censorship being imposed on all forms of journalism in Australia.  A similar police raid had been carried out on the home of what is described as an " investigative journalist " to ferret out  how she derived her story that Australian soldiers in the Afghanistan war were guilty of misconduct that resulted in the deaths of innocent women and children.

The purpose of the raid was clearly to seek the identity of the whistle blowers who provided the information that sparked the story.  The media in Australia jealously guards the identity of the brave souls who put life and liberty at risk to reveal crime in high places.  In many parts of the world what used to be called the " free press " is being stifled by aggressive new laws and in some cases journalists who persist are being murdered.

Governments tend to hide behind the defence of " national security " when it comes to closing down embarrassing news stories and journalists run the risk of our defamation laws if they damage the reputation of another person with claims that can not be substantiated.  Often these news stories have a long background of careful examination to gain conclusive proof before they appear on news pages.  The journalist puts his or her reputation on the line when they add their by-line.

The world has been following the long travail of Julian Assange who revealed secrets the United States government wanted kept secret.  Assange is now awaiting extradition to the country where he will face trial and probably end his life in a high security prison.  The pursuit has been relentless and power prevailed, despite Assange hiding out in a friendly embassy for seven years.

There is an old saying about corruption in high places.   It goes unchecked while good men do nothing.  The fear that keeps those in high places on the straight and narrow is the risk that their sins may be revealed by a whistle blower.  We silence those whistle blowers at our peril.

This raid on the ABC seems to be a turning point.   The Federal police intruded into the personal effects of journalists and examined diaries and phone histories to widen their investigation.  The identity of informants can be guessed if the contents of the emerging story leads in their direction and usually a whistle blower knows that disclosure will come at great personal cost.  Such is the cost of choosing disclosure in the public interest.

Journalism can not keep us informed without the services of public minded men and women who take the risk to disclose corruption.  It is the investigative journalist that roots out endemic corruption that exists at the highest level of public service and is covered by official secrecy.  It will take a law change to protect such disclosure from being negated by the very force created to uphold the law.