The Philippines’ investigative journalist Maria Ressa is the winner of the 2019 Shorenstein Journalism Award given by Stanford University in California.
Ressa, the CEO and executive editor of Rappler news network, is receiving the award from Stanford University’s Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) for her work in helping audiences around the world understand the complexities of the Asia-Pacific region.
Maria Ressa is cited by Stanford as “a highly-regarded journalist in Asia for more than thirty years and commended worldwide for her courageous work in fighting disinformation and attempts to silence the free press.”
“Maria Ressa is a champion of digital journalism innovation, and a paragon of protecting democracy and speaking truth to power,” said Gi-Wook Shin, Shorenstein APARC director. “For decades, before she became internationally acclaimed for her brave fight to ‘hold the line,’ Maria’s work had provided deep insights into the complexities of Southeast Asia based on her nuanced knowledge, investigative skills, and the ability to draw upon them to connect with audiences around the world. We are honored to recognize her with the Shorenstein Journalism Award.”
Among Maria Ressa’s works credited by the awards committee are the following:
- Nearly two decades at CNN, where she was lead investigative reporter focusing on terrorism in Southeast Asia and served as the network’s bureau chief in Manila, then Jakarta
- Head of news and current affairs at ABS-CBN, the largest media network in the Philippines where her work aimed to redefine journalism by combining traditional broadcast and new media for social change
- Launched Rappler, turning it into one of the Philippines’ most influential news organizations and integrating data, content, and new technologies to promote public service journalism and civic engagement. With a commitment to editorial independence
- Taught courses in politics and the press in Southeast Asia for her alma mater, Princeton University, and in broadcast journalism for the University of the Philippines
- Author of two books: From Bin Laden to Facebook (2012), which traces the spread of terrorism from the training camps of Afghanistan to Southeast Asia and the Philippines, and Seeds of Terror: An Eyewitness Account of Al-Qaeda’s Newest Center of Operations in Southeast Asia (2003), which documented the changing tactics of Al-Qaeda and its next-generation roots in the Muslim strongholds in the Philippines and Indonesia
Maria Ressa is scheduled to receive the Shorenstein Journalism Award on October 21, 2019.
Earlier this year, Maria Ressa received the 2018 Tully Award for Free Speech at the SI Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University (SU) in New York City.
Ressa also received the 2019 Columbia Journalism Award from the Columbia Journalism School in New York City during the graduation ceremony of the school’s class of 2019.
Maria Ressa was named by Time Magazine as one of the world’s 100 most influential people of 2019 and as Time’s Person of the Year for 2018.
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