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.
“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.
She said the committee’s choice “is intended to underscore the importance of protecting and defending these fundamental rights.”
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.
“We need to sound the alert to every person in a democracy,” Ressa told CNN in 2019 on her fight for freedom of expression. “These freedoms are being eroded in front of our…
