How The New York Times, the Guardian and Der Spiegel Got Their Hands On the Wikileaks Data

Clint Hendler at the Columbia Journalism Review has a play-by-play account of the logistics behind Wikileaks’ decision to publish his trove of secret U.S. war reports with The New York Times, the Guardian and Der Spiegel.

CJR reports that the Guardian‘s Nick Davies approached Wikileaks founder Julian Assange in Belgium, and the pair discussed possible ways to handle the stories that would emerge from the piles of Wikileaks data. What eventually would transpire was Assange’s idea:

On June 22, during a six hour coffee-soaked meeting in a Brussels cafe, Davies says Assange suggested another idea — that The Guardian and The New York Times be given an advance look at some information the site had on the Afghanistan war, with each paper publishing their own takes on the documents.

AW+

WORK SMARTER - LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.

Spring Special

Save 30% Off an ADWEEK Subscription Today!

View Your Options

Already a member? Sign in