Maria Ressa, Co-founder, CEO and Executive Editor of Rappler awarded Golden Pen of Freedom 2018 No Images? Click here FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Estoril, Portugal, 6 June 2018 Golden Pen of Freedom Awarded to Maria Ressa of the Philippines.The Golden Pen of Freedom, the annual press freedom award of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), has been awarded to Maria Ressa, Co-founder, CEO and Executive Editor of the online news site, Rappler. The award, made in Cascais, Portugal during the opening ceremony of the 70th World News Media Congress and 25th World Editors Forum, recognised Ms Ressa’s unwavering commitment to the values of a free press, as well as her determination to continue exposing stories of vital importance for democracy in the Philippines amidst intense pressure from the government and its supporters.
Since the 2016 election of President Rodrigo Duterte, Rappler has fallen victim to a deliberate and highly targeted online campaign by supporters of the controversial head of state that seeks to discredit the media organisation and drown out criticism. In parallel, Ms Ressa has been the target of an increasingly hostile, gender-targeted hate campaign designed to undermine her credibility and the legitimacy of Rappler’s reporting. Rather than retreating from the threats, she has become a vocal spokeswoman in denouncing online harassment and in warning of the negative effects for democracy of the increasing use of technology generally - and social media more specifically - to discredit professional journalism. Rappler is also currently facing a raft of judicial and legal cases, tax inspections and administrative investigations that have been brought by government agencies and officials who are actively pursuing the company in an attempt to close down its reporting. In the most high profile case, in January 2018 the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revoked Rappler’s license of incorporation – a decision the company continues to fight. “We honour a genuinely courageous journalist, a dedicated media pioneer, and a true believer in the power that the craft of journalism can have,” said Dave Callaway, World Editors Forum president, editor and CEO of The Street in presenting the award.
Maria Ressa has been a journalist in Asia for over 30 years, with a career spanning various media. As the bureau chief for CNN in Manila and Jakarta for nearly two decades she was a senior investigative reporter on terrorism in Southeast Asia. In 2005, Ms Ressa headed up the News and Current Affairs division of Philippine media company ABS-CBN, where for six years she worked to redefine journalism by combining traditional and innovative media models. Her interest and talents in technology and new media were an impetus for her becoming one of the founders and eventually the CEO of Rappler, a social news network that aims to inspire community engagement and fuel social change. It became one of the first websites in the Philippines to use online multimedia such as video, text, audio and photos, incorporating social media sites for distribution. Since the website launched in 2012, it has not only successfully brought people together, but has also become the target of growing hostility and attacks from the government and its supporters for coverage of topics considered sensitive by President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration; from questioning the government’s handling of the drugs war and exposing police brutality, to human rights abuses and abuses of power. “We hope the Golden Pen deters those who seek to undermine media independence and the profession of journalism by showing the solidarity that the award represents,” said Mr Callaway. “When all else fails, we should know that we have each other to rely upon if we are to continue making the kind of impact, breaking the sort of stories, and shining our light into those dark corners in a way our communities have come to expect. The way Rappler has been doing, and will keep on doing.”
For the speeches from the Golden Pen ceremony visit www.wan-ifra.org/pressfreedom For a profile of Maria Ressa, visit https://www.wan-ifra.org/node/190111/ Read the WAN-IFRA Board Press Freedom Resolution concerning the Philippines at https://www.wan-ifra.org/node/190109/ CONTACT - INQUIRIESAndrew Heslop, Director of Insights ABOUT WAN-IFRA - WAN-IFRA is the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers. Its mission is to protect the rights of journalists across the world to operate free media, and provide its members with professional services to help their business prosper in a digital world and perform their crucial role in open societies. With formal representative status at the United Nations, UNESCO and the Council of Europe, it derives its authority from its global network of leading news publishing companies and technology entrepreneurs, and its legitimacy from its 80 national association members representing 18,000 publications in 120 countries. www.wan-ifra.org ABOUT WAN-IFRA MEDIA FREEDOM PROGRAMMES - Increasing media freedom directly strengthens democracy and human rights is a foundation of societal development - be it economic, cultural or political. This has been a guiding principle of WAN-IFRA for seven decades of global advocacy and development work. WAN-IFRA responds to requests for support from its membership base and also implements long-term advocacy and development initiatives. Advocacy actions are coordinated through WAN-IFRA’s growing network of Media Freedom Committees and include campaigns, coordinated press freedom missions, awareness raising and public events to strengthen safety and protection, legal and regulatory frameworks, reduce censorship and confront other challenges to the editorial and economic independence of media. |