By Nneka Nwogwugwu
The International Press Institute (IPI), a global network of editors, leading journalists and publishers has hailed members of its executive board for being among the winners of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize.
Maria Ressa, IPI executive board member and CEO of Rappler, and Dmitry Muratov, editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta, won this year’s Nobel Peace Prize “for their courageous fight for freedom of expression in the Philippines and Russia”, as the Nobel Peace Prize Committee said in a statement.
This is the first time the Nobel Peace Prize has gone to a journalist since 1935 – and the first time ever that two journalists have won it.
The IPI Executive Board Chair Khadija Patel said the committee’s decision to award the prize to the two journalists was a source of inspiration.
“Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov are exemplars of this profession,” Patel said. “They are, as well, stories in themselves of the struggles that journalists face every day. This is a recognition of the hard work that they have done. It is recognition as well of the struggles that they face and a sign that their courage is not in vain.”
IPI Executive Director Barbara Trionfi said the award showed the importance of high-quality, independent journalism in contributing to peace.
“This is an acknowledgment of the incredible value of the type of journalism that Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov do, a journalism that reveals wrongdoings, stands up to autocrats and supports the rights of the people, courageously and despite constant harassment,” Trionfi said.
In 2018, IPI awarded Ressa’s Rappler with the IPI-IMS Free Media Pioneer Award in recognition of the news site’s innovative approach to journalism and audience engagement as well as its determination to hold authorities accountable despite aggressive attacks.
One of the Philippines’ most prominent journalists, Ressa has been the target of repeated legal harassment due to her critical reporting. She faces nearly 100 years in prison if convicted in a slew of court cases related to alleged violations of tax and foreign ownership legislation and cyber libel.
Muratov’s Novaya Gazeta received the IPI Free Media Pioneer Award in 2009, in recognition of Novaya Gazeta’s struggle to keep the flame of independent journalism alive in Russia in the face of great danger.
Dmitry Muratov is a Russian journalist, television presenter and the editor-in-chief of the Russian newspaper. Muratov co-founded the pro-democracy newspaper Novaya Gazeta in 1993 with several other journalists. He was the newspaper’s editor-in-chief from 1995 to 2017, and again assumed the position in 2019. The newspaper is known for its reporting on sensitive topics such as governmental corruption and human rights violations.
As editor-in-chief he published articles by Anna Politkovskaya that scrutinised the Putin administration. Muratov helped to create “the only truly critical newspaper with national influence in Russia today”, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
His newspaper has also been influential on shedding light of the turbulent situations in Chechnya and the Northern Caucasus in general.
Ole Kristian Bjellaanes, IPI Norway national committee chair, said the award would bring comfort to independent news outlets and individual journalists who often feel isolated.
“This prize is an encouragement to the work of all investigative journalists,” he said. “I am happy that the Norwegian Nobel Committee recognises the importance of free speech and a free press as a contribution to a freer and more peaceful world.”
