The lives of Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov will be forever changed after winning the prize. But with a more visible presence comes increased scrutiny and threats from those in positions of power.
Maria Ressa’s case is important because of what it says about the way governments are increasingly using the “rule of law” to silence the legitimate work of journalists.
Maria Ressa (C), executive editor of online news site Rappler, arrives to post bail at a local court in Manila, Philippines. February 14, 2019.
EPA Images
The four people and a newspaper who are Time magazine’s “Person of the Year” have been given the acknowledgment not just for what they have done, but for what they have come to represent.
The experience of journalists like Maria Ressa is all too common.
EPA/FRANCIS R. MALASIG
Global Director of Research, International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) and Research Associate, Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (RISJ), University of Oxford