Julian Assange Continues to Ignore The New York Times

Julian Assange is determined to shut out the New York Times and reporter John Burns. In Burns’ article today, he says that Assange continues to freeze him out:

Attempts by The New York Times to interview Mr. Assange in recent days were unsuccessful. For months, he has regularly changed cellphones, and had members of his close-knit entourage answer them for him.

Assange has refused to cooperate with Burns and the Times since Burns’ controversial profile of him in October. Now, with Assange giving lengthy interviews to virtually every other news organization, the Times is being forced to rely on outside sources (as it did when it gained the latest cables from The Guardian) for information.

With Assange taking this tactic, it’s putting reporters and news organizations in a difficult spot. They’re being forced to tread lightly because they don’t want to miss out on any breaking news from Wikileaks. He’s like that friend you knew when you were a kid who had the best GI Joes, but wouldn’t let you play with them because you once talked about how odd his pants were, even if there was some truth in the statement.

Lesson learned: compliment Assange’s pants.

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