WikiLeaks' Julian Assange to host own TV show
The WikiLeaks founder will be hosting a TV show in which he'll chat with "political players, thinkers, and revolutionaries from around the world."
Move over Jay Leno. Watch out David Letterman. The next person getting his own talk show is none other than WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
Touting the new series on its Web site yesterday, WikiLeaks proclaimed that the show would feature in-depth conversations between Assange and "key political players, thinkers, and revolutionaries from around the world" all focusing on the theme of "the world tomorrow."
Calling Assange "a pioneer for a more just world and a victim of political repression," the WikiLeaks press release dubbed him uniquely qualified to conduct global discussions on how to move forward. With unrest in the Middle East, the bankruptcy of political institutions in the West, and the Internet under attack, the time has come to rethink the world around us, said WikiLeaks.
The goal behind the series is to bring together controversial figures to offer their take on the world of tomorrow and their ideas for making things better.
"Through this series I will explore the possibilities for our future in conversations with those who are shaping it," Assange said in a statement. "Are we heading towards utopia, or dystopia and how we can set our paths? This is an exciting opportunity to discuss the vision of my guests in a new style of show that examines their philosophies and struggles in a deeper and clearer way than has been done before."
Referring to Assange as "one of the world's most recognizable revolutionary figures," WikiLeaks noted that its founder has been the subject of a grand jury investigation in the U.S. for more than a year now.
WikiLeaks incurred the wrath of the U.S. government by posting a vast respository of classified and sensitive documents from military and diplomatic sources. A U.S. soldier, Bradley Manning, has been charged with supplying a large portion of that haul to Assange and WikiLeaks.
Separately, Assange, who has been living in the U.K. under bail, is awaiting extradition to Sweden on charges that he sexually assaulted two women in 2010, charges that he has vehemently denied.
In November, Assange lost an initial appeal to avoid extradition but is now waiting for his case to be heard by the Supreme Court.
The new TV series is slated to debut in the middle of March in 10 weekly 30-minute episodes. No word yet on who'll carry it or where it'll be available, though WikiLeaks said the show will reach more than 600 million viewers on cable, satellite, and standard broadcast networks.