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Diversity of Journalisms. Proceedings of ECREA/CICOM Conference, Pamplona, 4-5 July 2011
The News Production Process about the U.S. Embassy Cables:
How ‘The Guardian’, ‘The New York Times’ and ‘El País’
Covered and Released the Documents Provided by WikiLeaks
Miguel Carvajal, José Alberto García Avilés, José Luis González Esteban
Journalism Department, Universidad Miguel Hernández, Spain
Abstract
In November 2010, WikiLeaks provided 250,000 diplomatic documents to five news
organisations throughout the world. The United States diplomatic cables leak (also
known as “Cablegate”) has sparked the debate about the journalistic nature of
WikiLeaks and about transparency and free speech. However, it is a great opportunity
to see how the press covered and reported the documents by analysing the strategies
and practices of three newspapers. It also provides comparative material to establish
differences not only between newspapers, but also countries, media cultures and
journalists. The methodology uses comparative data gathered from each newspaper
through questions that address the main aspects of the news production process: the
agenda of negotiations with Julian Assange (founder of WikiLeaks); the publication
schedule; decision making and the ethics about the publication of compromising
cables; how the staff was managed and coordinated, and what types of guidelines
were given; the ombudsman policy regarding the publication of the cables; etc. This
paper describes how three major news media organise their news production in a
situation that is different from the regular daily basis. This case gives us an excellent
opportunity to analyse how different editors drew up a plan for the publication of one of
the most important leaks in the recent history of public opinion.
Keywords: WikiLeaks, news, reporting, production, sources, comparative
The News Production Process about the U.S. Embassy Cables
The publication of the U.S. Embassy cables in five newspapers throughout the World is
a milestone in the modern history of journalism. The global coordination, the impact on
public opinion and the tecnological conditions make this case the Watergate of the 21 st
century. It is even more important because this leak is taking place in challenging times
for the newspaper industry. The financial crisis, combined with the birth of a new
ecosystem of new media models, challenges the traditional media monopoly within
public opinion. In this context, the leak of U.S. Embassy cables was provided by one of
those new organisations—WikiLeaks. These circumstances are enough to make this a
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