WIKILEAKS and Julian Assange's (and his colleagues) commitment to the discovery of the truth has won THE WALKLEY.

Wikileaks and Julian Assange have won the WALKLEY for their commitment to the truth via citizen media, and in terms of inspiration. The Walkley is a mainstream media award of a media often accused as 'consdervative' however it is indicative of the swell of humanity that is within the mainstream media busting to break free from many of the restrictions that hold back the unfettered truth and more 'inclusive democracry'.

FROM the WALKLEY list of winners - Most outstanding contribution to journalism (Sponsored by Sky News)

WikiLeaks

This year’s winner has shown a courageous and controversial commitment to the finest traditions of journalism: justice through transparency.

WikiLeaks applied new technology to penetrate the inner workings of government to reveal an avalanche of inconvenient truths in a global publishing coup.

Its revelations, from the way the war on terror was being waged, to diplomatic bastardry, high-level horse-trading and the interference in the domestic affairs of nations, have had an undeniable impact.

This innovation could just as easily have been developed and nurtured by any of the world’s major publishers – but it wasn’t.

Yet so many eagerly took advantage of the secret cables to create more scoops in a year than most journalists could imagine in a lifetime.

While not without flaws, the Walkley Trustees believe that by designing and constructing a means to encourage whistleblowers, WikiLeaks and its editor-in-chief Julian Assange took a brave, determined and independent stand for freedom of speech and transparency that has empowered people all over the world.

And in the process, they have triggered a robust debate inside and outside the media about official secrecy, the public’s right to know, and the future of journalism.