![]() Reacting to his win, Muratov said the prize is a testament to the newspaper’s dedication to free speech and his colleagues who have died fighting for it, Russian state media TASS reported. The crackdown on journalistic freedom is closely felt at both Rappler and Novaya Gazeta. (Photo by Anthony WALLACE / AFP) (Photo by ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP via Getty Images) ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP/AFP via Getty Imagesįrom Belarus to Hong Kong, journalists 'are bearing the brunt of the global surge in repression' Some of Hong Kong's most prominent pro-democracy activists were charged on May 18 for taking part in last year's huge protests, hours after clashes erupted in the legislature as the city lurches back into a political crisis. Hong Kong media tycoon and founder of Apple Daily newspaper Jimmy Lai (C) arrives at the West Kowloon Magistrates Court for charges related to last year's protests in Hong Kong on May 18, 2020. “These rights are crucial prerequisites for democracy and protect against war and conflict.” “Freedom of expression and freedom of information help to ensure an informed public,” Reiss-Andersen said during Friday’s ceremony. Last year the organization told CNN that had a free press been allowed in China, the world would have known about the coronavirus outbreak far earlier and the virus may not have been allowed to spiral into a global pandemic. Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders, themselves considered a contender for the prize, said in its most recent Press Freedom Index that journalism “is totally blocked or seriously impeded in 73 countries and constrained in 59 others.” The Norwegian Nobel Committee’s decision to recognize two journalists comes as countries around the world roll back the rights of reporters. It added that Muratov has “consistently defended the right of journalists to write anything they want about whatever they want, as long as they comply with the professional and ethical standards of journalism.” “The newspaper’s fact-based journalism and professional integrity have made it an important source of information on censurable aspects of Russian society rarely mentioned by other media,” the committee said. He has served as the paper’s editor-in-chief since 1995. ![]() Six staff members at the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta have been killed since Muratov co-founded the outlet in 1993, the committee said. The awards in medicine, physics, chemistry and literature were given out earlier this week. Ressa becomes the first woman to be awarded a Nobel Prize this year. “These freedoms are being eroded in front of our eyes … If you don’t have facts, you can’t have truth.” “We need to sound the alert to every person in a democracy,” she told CNN in 2019 on her fight for freedom of expression. Muratov and Ressa have faced legal and physical threats since they established their news outlets. Ressa, a former CNN bureau chief and TIME Person of the Year, has been engulfed in legal battles in recent years and says she has been targeted because of her news site’s critical reports on Duterte. She said the pair are “representatives of all journalists who stand up for this ideal in a world in which democracy and freedom of the press face increasingly adverse conditions.” Reiss-Andersen added that the committee’s choice was intended to “underscore the importance of protecting and defending these fundamental rights.” “Free, independent and fact-based journalism serves to protect against abuse of power, lies and war propaganda,” Berit Reiss-Andersen, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said as she announced the prize in Oslo on Friday. Both have faced legal and physical threats during their careers, as their respective governments cracked down on the rights of journalists. Ressa is the CEO of Rappler, a news outlet critical of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s regime, while Muratov heads the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta. The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to journalists Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov, for their longstanding efforts to safeguard freedom of expression in the Philippines and Russia.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |