Rappler CEO receives Knight International Award

Photo from Rappler.com

RAPPLER FOUNDER and executive editor Maria Ressa received the International Center for Journalists’ (ICFJ) 2018 Knight International Journalism Award on November 9 in Washington, DC for Rappler’s “innovation and exposés on corruption despite the obstacles thrown its way.”

According to ICFJ’s profile on Ressa, she has worked in journalism for over 30 years. She spent most of her career as CNN bureau chief in Manila (1987-1995) and then in Jakarta (1995-2005). She was CNN’s lead investigative reporter covering terrorism in Southeast Asia. She was also head of news and current affairs at ABS-CBN, in which she supervised more than 1,000 journalists for six years.

Ressa founded Rappler in 2012.  The online news site is among the first in the country to use social media and crowdsourcing in the dissemination of news.

Rappler has persistently shed light on the harsh policies of the President Rodrigo Duterte. It reported that under Duterte nearly 8,000 Filipinos have been victims of extrajudicial killings. In response to the reports, Duterte and his government are targeting Rappler in its attack on press freedom.

Ressa is still fighting the government’s move to revoke its license on the grounds that the site is controlled by foreigners, a charge Ressa calls ridiculous. The case has reached the Supreme Court.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently found probable cause to indict Ressa, Rappler Holdings Corporation (RHC) and its independent accountant on tax evasion charges.

Ressa mentioned during her acceptance speech that the filing of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) tax case “came about 6 months after the tax agency gave us an award for being a top corporate taxpayer.” DOJ’s indictment was released on the same day that Ressa was in Washington DC to receive her award.

Ressa thanked ICFJ for recognizing their work “at a crucial time when [the] organization and Philippine democracy are struggling to survive.” She said Rappler has written a lot about two battle fronts: the brutal drug war and the exponential lies on social media.

ICFJ honored two digital pioneers who have used their news websites to expose corruption and abuse of power in the Philippines and Venezuela. “For the first time, both Knight Awards are going to the founders of digital news sites who fearlessly pursue the truth,” said ICFJ President Joyce Barnathan. “In the face of severe government crackdowns, they boldly persist in telling the stories that need to be told.”

The other awardee, Joseph Poliszuk, is co-founder and editor-in-chief of Armando.info, a website dedicated to investigative journalism in Venezuela, a country teetering on the verge of bankruptcy and political collapse.