Alan Rusbridger, editor-in-chief of The Guardian, received the Tully Award for Free Speech on Wednesday night. Before the ceremony, Rusbridger spoke to The Daily Orange about the importance of free speech and where he thinks journalism is headed.

The Daily Orange: What does free speech mean to you? Why is it important?

Alan Rusbridger: It is of the most fundamental importance because it enables the challenge of power. You have to have the ability to challenge, debate and argue power. And if you can’t have that then society is in trouble.

The D.O.: What are the major differences between news media in the United States and the United Kingdom?

A.R.: The First Amendment is a very powerful thing. In the United Kingdom we have Article 10 of the Human Rights Act and I think it’s designed to be similar but it’s not quite. The First Amendment seems to be engrained in the American psyche and American law in a way that Article 10 isn’t. This has led to the fact that in the U.K. you can still have prior restraint and effectively in the U.S. there is no such thing as prior restraint.

The D.O.: How do the United States and U.K. compare with the rest of the world?

A.R.: I think the U.S. is near the top of world leaders and the U.K. isn’t bad compared to many countries. But it is sad that a country that prides itself as a cradle for free speech hasn’t looked after it better.

The D.O.: You have won the Pulitzer Prize and you have been recognized by news organizations all over the world, so what was your initial reaction upon receiving the Tully Free Speech Award?

A.R.: I’m honored. I’m flattered. I think it’s really important that when universities step forward and recognize journalists, it does act as a form of check on government. Because if you’ve got a government thinking here is a media without friends and it turns out the media has friends and the friends are ones who understand the law then I think it helps deter bad things from happening.

The D.O.: What unforeseen obstacles did you face when publishing the Edward Snowden leak stories?

A.R.: Well I didn’t foresee that the government would be in the basement of The Guardian supervising us with power drills smashing up computers. It was a very complex story to develop. The players were scattered around the world and communications were difficult and at times impossible. It was the most complex story logistically, ethically, legally and editorially to do and it was drawn out because the material was so complex.

The D.O.: In addition to having your patriotism questioned, what were some of the most unexpected reactions to this story or any other story published under your leadership?

A.R.: I was surprised by the reaction of some journalists. It seems to me so obvious that if you’re a journalist, you can’t believe that the government has the final say of what can be published. And it surprises me that some journalists don’t believe that, which suggests to me that they haven’t thought very carefully about what it means to be a journalist. By and large there was overwhelming support around the world for what The Guardian did.

The D.O.: How do you hope to see the future of journalism evolve?

A.R.: I think there are some things you hope will never change — the sort of fundamental purposes, duties and responsibilities of journalists. I think almost everything else will change and maybe that’s a good thing. The technology and the medium in which we work, and the relationship between journalists and readers will change, much of it for the better. As long as we do not lose sight of the core purpose of what we do.

The D.O.: How does The Guardian’s data-driven coffee shop, which opened in London in 2013, contribute to that evolution?

A.R.: Almost not at all. It was just a tiny little experiment. The bigger thing is the membership that we are doing where we are saying to the readers we want to have different kind of relationship with you. To be a journalist in the 19th and 20th centuries was to be a cut above the rest and they passed down wisdom that the public didn’t have. I think the sort of media theorists who said that all that would change were right. I think The Guardian has gone farther than most news organizations in embracing that. So we’re building a membership program that takes down the walls between journalists and readers and I think that will be both profitable and interesting.

The D.O.: What advice do you have for aspiring journalists?

A.R.: I’m assuming that they want to go into journalism to make a difference and because they believe in journalism. The technologies are going to be so important, so get to know some geeks because I think understanding how engineers think and work is important. Putting together journalists and engineers — the result can be so powerful. The most liberating things happen when you’ve got engineers who come to work at The Guardian because they believe in the same thing as the journalists and they want to.

Published on October 2, 2014 at 1:06 am

Contact Sara: smswann@syr.edu | @saramswann