When Democracy Leaks

Writing an article about WikiLeaks in the op-ed section of the guardian.co.uk, Simon Jenkins makes an interesting point when he says that "The job of the media is not to protect the powerful from embarrassment."  Personally, I couldn't agree more.  If our government cannot keep something secret, why should the news media be required to back them up?  In other words, if the press has to be a partner with the government in protecting state secrets; why do we need the press in the first place?  Do we really have an independent, free press if journalists are expected to protect Uncle Sam from spilling the beans?  It seems to me that whoever gave this information to WikiLeaks in the first place is the real culprit here.  Let's not shoot the messenger.  We need the message.