Last Friday, the Nobel Prize Committee stood up for democracy and awarded its 2021 Nobel Peace Prize to journalists Maria Ressa(Philippines) and Dmitry Muratov (Russia), “in a world in which democracy and freedom of the press face increasingly adverse conditions.”
After the last five years of our ears being assaulted by cries of “fake news!” by the last U.S. president and his minions who whined anytime they were confronted with inconvenient facts by reporters or criticized in the slightest by anyone, this announcement of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize to these fearless journalists was like a breath of fresh air to me. A reminder that there are people in this world who do care about holding people in power accountable and informing citizens with FACTS.
Here’s an article from The Conversation for you that better expresses what I could write in this blog post:
I wrote of my respect and admiration of Maria Ressa in January of this year, so I am extra happy she was awarded this honor. I spent my college years managing one college paper and reporting and editing for two – and have developed over the years a soft spot in my heart and great respect for journalists like Ms. Ressa and Mr. Muratov who relentlessly dig deep to expose abuses of power, knowing that they may be jeopardizing their safety and lives in the process but continuing to work nonetheless. I admire their determination to hold those in power accountable and inform their fellow citizens.
They and their fellow like-minded journalists would be just the sort of journalists I’d aspire to emulate if I were a working journalist: possessing unrelenting, dogged determination to get the truth out.
I think we need journalists like Ressa and Muratov as long as there are humans on earth or any other planet. They are essential to humankind. They are the courageous and gutsy ones who warn us about powerful people and corporations whose abuses of power would endanger our lives, intentionally or not.
Stand with them. They deserve our respect.
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