May 31, 2025 • 8 mins
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hello, I am Cody Allingham and this is the Transformation of
Value, a place for asking questions about freedom, money
and creativity. On a rainy Friday evening in
Tokyo, I sat with around 40 people at the Foreign
Correspondents Club of Japan forthe annual Freedom of the Press
Awards. I lingered at the back as an
(00:21):
interloper, trying to imagine myself amongst this media world.
I mingled with sprightly young reporters from Reuters and the
Japan Times and the slightly more withered editorial team of
the Akahata newspaper, the official daily rag of the Japan
Communist Party, who had won theFreedom of the Press award.
(00:43):
In an interesting turn of events, Akahata, which means red
flag in Japanese, were the firstpublication to break the story
of the Liberal Democratic Party's political funding
scandal, which eventually led toa major shake up of the Japanese
government. Despite my ongoing critiques of
communist ideology, it was a privilege to be able to have a
(01:03):
chitchat and a sober chuckle with the Akahata gentlemen as we
discussed what was happening in Japan.
I congratulated them on taking on the government when the only
sounds emerging from other domestic media was of sucking
air. Opening remarks by Freedom of
the Press Committee Co chairs David McNeil and Ilgen Yodumas
(01:25):
pulled no punches in highlighting that more
journalists were killed in 2024 than in any other year since the
Committee to Protect Journalistsbegan monitoring 30 years ago.
At least 124 journalists and media workers were killed last
year, nearly 2/3 of them Palestinians.
For 2025, the toll looks like itmay be even higher.
(01:48):
The keynote speech was deliveredby Irene Khan, UN special
rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to
freedom of opinion and expression.
She mentioned something in particular that stayed with me.
The murder of a journalist is the most egregious form of
censorship. I reflect on those who seek to
(02:09):
challenge power structures through journalism,
whistleblowing and commentary, but also the work that many are
undertaking and building censorship resistant tools,
communities and infrastructure, whether on Bitcoin or encrypted
messaging technologies such as Nosta and Signal.
Among the other award winners, we heard from Ishimaru Giro, who
(02:31):
won the Lifetime Achievement Award for his work reporting on
North Korea for over 30 years via Asia Press International, as
well as in Depth Solomons who have been covering the political
situation in the Solomon Islands.
The honorary Japan Award for Freedom of the Press went to
Hiroshima Peace Media Center andNBC won the Asia Press Freedom
(02:53):
Award for their reportage on themartial law situation in South
Korea last year. But again, what is my role in
all of this? These stories of integrity and
courage are really about individuals within these media
institutions. It does not extinguish my own
critique and sometimes contempt for the organization of media.
(03:17):
Over recent years I have seen first hand how institutional
journalism of accreditation of bureaus and press passes can,
instead of chasing after freedom, actually walk hand in
hand with the very power of the state.
It was the AKA Hata newspaper, the outsiders, who broke the
(03:37):
Japanese political funding storybecause domestic media was
already too intimate with the government.
Japanese mainstream media tends towards self censorship and
covets its exclusive press access and relationships.
But is this much different than even in my own humble country of
New Zealand? The political capture of New
(03:58):
Zealand's small media landscape is a travesty and I see the
financial collapse of this cabalas the only way through which
reform and a return to truth seeking is even possible.
Is this an endemic issue with the media, I wonder?
There are editorial structures and chains of command and
financial incentives within media organizations.
(04:20):
Does this necessarily lead to capture and erosion of integrity
over time? On the other hand, rejecting the
integrity of the media outright leads to a kind of spiral Into
Darkness that I have witnessed amongst some of my own
associates. Indeed, there is a kind of meta
gameplay that seeks to confuse and distort the very idea of
(04:42):
truth itself, or of the knowability of reality.
I know people who are unable to trust anything.
They have become the ultimate cynics who in turn arrive at a
place of nothing but pure memes,of unbridled skepticism and
ultimately of detachment from the very reality to which they
pledge allegiance. Upon mentioning my own
(05:05):
admiration for the kind of courage it takes for a
journalist to report on places like Xinjiang in western China
or North Korea, they simply confront me and ask.
But why do these journalists even care so much?
What is in it for them, as if there is some kind of
psychological operation or conspiracy that must underpin
(05:25):
every single thing? I don't know.
I am still extremely critical and wary of institutions and
centralized organizations. The media's celebration of some
topics and deafening silence on others, it's manufacture of
consensus and narratives are allred flags for me.
But ironically, it was AKA Hata,the red flag newspaper of the
(05:48):
Communist Party of Japan that broke the political funding
scandal. If a hardened communist
newspaper can take on the power of the Japanese government, then
good on them. I think this push and pull is
important. The ongoing critique and
monitoring and vigilance is essential no matter who is doing
it. The institution of legacy media
(06:09):
may be bleeding out before our eyes, but what will replace it?
The fabled rise of AI slop and dead Internet echo chambers
tickles the God complex of the technocracy.
But fundamentally, the machine cannot know reality.
They cannot infer the complex interplay of relationships and
(06:30):
the very nature of the political, which is of course,
distinctly human and of the moment.
What happened yesterday and today?
What does it mean for us? I wonder if also in a sense,
organizations and large media companies are in the same
predicament. Maybe it is the individuals and
(06:51):
the independents who will continue this journalistic work.
I am inspired by the caliber of people like those who were
recognized for their work last night at the Freedom of the
Press Awards. Willing and able to smuggle old
cell phones into North Korea andnavigate the narrow border along
the Yalu River to get any kind of reception from the Hermit
(07:13):
Kingdom. Of standing the ground against
the military and the martial lawin Seoul.
Of bringing light to political corruption and the excesses of
the state, wherever it may sprout.
After the awards, I joined the others at the bar again as an
interloper. Eric Johnston, senior national
(07:33):
correspondent for the Japan Times, stood and proposed a
toast to freedom of the press. But it was not expensive wine or
champagne that everyone held up in honour, but simply glasses of
ice water. Thank you for listening.
I am Cody Allingham and this is the transformation of value,
(07:54):
exploring freedom, money and creativity.
Hello, I am Cody Allingham and this is the Transformation of
Value, a place for asking questions about freedom, money
and creativity. On a rainy Friday evening in
Tokyo, I sat with around 40 people at the Foreign
Correspondents Club of Japan forthe annual Freedom of the Press
Awards. I lingered at the back as an
(00:21):
interloper, trying to imagine myself amongst this media world.
I mingled with sprightly young reporters from Reuters and the
Japan Times and the slightly more withered editorial team of
the Akahata newspaper, the official daily rag of the Japan
Communist Party, who had won theFreedom of the Press award.
(00:43):
In an interesting turn of events, Akahata, which means red
flag in Japanese, were the firstpublication to break the story
of the Liberal Democratic Party's political funding
scandal, which eventually led toa major shake up of the Japanese
government. Despite my ongoing critiques of
communist ideology, it was a privilege to be able to have a
(01:03):
chitchat and a sober chuckle with the Akahata gentlemen as we
discussed what was happening in Japan.
I congratulated them on taking on the government when the only
sounds emerging from other domestic media was of sucking
air. Opening remarks by Freedom of
the Press Committee Co chairs David McNeil and Ilgen Yodumas
(01:25):
pulled no punches in highlighting that more
journalists were killed in 2024 than in any other year since the
Committee to Protect Journalistsbegan monitoring 30 years ago.
At least 124 journalists and media workers were killed last
year, nearly 2/3 of them Palestinians.
For 2025, the toll looks like itmay be even higher.
(01:48):
The keynote speech was deliveredby Irene Khan, UN special
rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to
freedom of opinion and expression.
She mentioned something in particular that stayed with me.
The murder of a journalist is the most egregious form of
censorship. I reflect on those who seek to
(02:09):
challenge power structures through journalism,
whistleblowing and commentary, but also the work that many are
undertaking and building censorship resistant tools,
communities and infrastructure, whether on Bitcoin or encrypted
messaging technologies such as Nosta and Signal.
Among the other award winners, we heard from Ishimaru Giro, who
(02:31):
won the Lifetime Achievement Award for his work reporting on
North Korea for over 30 years via Asia Press International, as
well as in Depth Solomons who have been covering the political
situation in the Solomon Islands.
The honorary Japan Award for Freedom of the Press went to
Hiroshima Peace Media Center andNBC won the Asia Press Freedom
(02:53):
Award for their reportage on themartial law situation in South
Korea last year. But again, what is my role in
all of this? These stories of integrity and
courage are really about individuals within these media
institutions. It does not extinguish my own
critique and sometimes contempt for the organization of media.
(03:17):
Over recent years I have seen first hand how institutional
journalism of accreditation of bureaus and press passes can,
instead of chasing after freedom, actually walk hand in
hand with the very power of the state.
It was the AKA Hata newspaper, the outsiders, who broke the
(03:37):
Japanese political funding storybecause domestic media was
already too intimate with the government.
Japanese mainstream media tends towards self censorship and
covets its exclusive press access and relationships.
But is this much different than even in my own humble country of
New Zealand? The political capture of New
(03:58):
Zealand's small media landscape is a travesty and I see the
financial collapse of this cabalas the only way through which
reform and a return to truth seeking is even possible.
Is this an endemic issue with the media, I wonder?
There are editorial structures and chains of command and
financial incentives within media organizations.
(04:20):
Does this necessarily lead to capture and erosion of integrity
over time? On the other hand, rejecting the
integrity of the media outright leads to a kind of spiral Into
Darkness that I have witnessed amongst some of my own
associates. Indeed, there is a kind of meta
gameplay that seeks to confuse and distort the very idea of
(04:42):
truth itself, or of the knowability of reality.
I know people who are unable to trust anything.
They have become the ultimate cynics who in turn arrive at a
place of nothing but pure memes,of unbridled skepticism and
ultimately of detachment from the very reality to which they
pledge allegiance. Upon mentioning my own
(05:05):
admiration for the kind of courage it takes for a
journalist to report on places like Xinjiang in western China
or North Korea, they simply confront me and ask.
But why do these journalists even care so much?
What is in it for them, as if there is some kind of
psychological operation or conspiracy that must underpin
(05:25):
every single thing? I don't know.
I am still extremely critical and wary of institutions and
centralized organizations. The media's celebration of some
topics and deafening silence on others, it's manufacture of
consensus and narratives are allred flags for me.
But ironically, it was AKA Hata,the red flag newspaper of the
(05:48):
Communist Party of Japan that broke the political funding
scandal. If a hardened communist
newspaper can take on the power of the Japanese government, then
good on them. I think this push and pull is
important. The ongoing critique and
monitoring and vigilance is essential no matter who is doing
it. The institution of legacy media
(06:09):
may be bleeding out before our eyes, but what will replace it?
The fabled rise of AI slop and dead Internet echo chambers
tickles the God complex of the technocracy.
But fundamentally, the machine cannot know reality.
They cannot infer the complex interplay of relationships and
(06:30):
the very nature of the political, which is of course,
distinctly human and of the moment.
What happened yesterday and today?
What does it mean for us? I wonder if also in a sense,
organizations and large media companies are in the same
predicament. Maybe it is the individuals and
(06:51):
the independents who will continue this journalistic work.
I am inspired by the caliber of people like those who were
recognized for their work last night at the Freedom of the
Press Awards. Willing and able to smuggle old
cell phones into North Korea andnavigate the narrow border along
the Yalu River to get any kind of reception from the Hermit
(07:13):
Kingdom. Of standing the ground against
the military and the martial lawin Seoul.
Of bringing light to political corruption and the excesses of
the state, wherever it may sprout.
After the awards, I joined the others at the bar again as an
interloper. Eric Johnston, senior national
(07:33):
correspondent for the Japan Times, stood and proposed a
toast to freedom of the press. But it was not expensive wine or
champagne that everyone held up in honour, but simply glasses of
ice water. Thank you for listening.
I am Cody Allingham and this is the transformation of value,
(07:54):
exploring freedom, money and creativity.
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