The Nobel Peace Prize winners were announced on October 8, 2021, and they were awarded for their bravery in journalism, particularly standing up for the freedom of speech in the face of adversity.

     The winners are Maria Ressa of the Philippines, and Dmitry Muratov of Russia. 

     Ms. Dion, a literacy tutor here at Foran, as well as being a former editor of the Milford Mirror for 20 years, believes that journalism should be appreciated now more than ever.

     “It’s definitely an important time to be recognizing journalism, because under the previous administration, journalists were treated as the enemy, and reporting facts was not acknowledged. It’s really important right now to be recognizing journalists, especially good journalists for the work that they do.”

     Journalist Maria Ressa won the award, particularly for highlighting issues within her own country.

     The official Nobel Prize website states, “Maria Ressa uses freedom of expression to expose abuse of power, use of violence and growing authoritarianism in her native country, the Philippines.”

     Ressa is known for speaking out against her government and taking a stand against the country’s controversial policies against drugs, according to the official Nobel Prize website. The Philippines’ government has taken a violent approach to the drug problem in the country by killing many of their own people and people who may have dealt drugs or are addicted. Mr. Frank Tupka, a history teacher, sheds light on the Filipino president, Rodrigo Duterte’s anti-drug policies. 

     He says, “Duterte’s policy of killing drug dealers and addicts has rightfully brought international attention to the crisis in his nation. Over the past four years, his brutal policies have lost public favor and organizations such as Human Rights Watch are now openly evaluating them as a potential crime against humanity.” 

     Ressa has also co-founded a news outlet based in the Philippines, called Rappler, which is a company dedicated to investigating others and exposing fake news. This news outlet can be found on Instagram, @rappler.

     Dmitry Muratov, a journalist from Russia, also won the award for staying strong to independent journalism and being a founder of his own independent newspaper for more than 24 years.

     He has been the editor-in-chief of his newspaper, Novaya Gazeta, for 24 years as well, and it is considered to be the most independent newspaper in Russia. The newspaper publishes articles that relate to political power, specifically corruption, and unlawfulness within the government.

     Even when faced with serious threats of death, as well as harassment, Muratov has stayed true to his independent policies with his newspaper and continues to uphold his newspaper’s fact-based policy.

     The Norwegian Nobel Committee feels that these people are deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize because of their many accomplishments. Ms. Dion believes that both of these brave journalists uphold the importance of free speech, and show immense strength in order to protect these ideals. They are constantly battling those who try to censor them. 

     “First, you’ve got to dig for the information, then you have to verify the information, then you have to be brave enough to report on it. Because there’s always going to be backlash, they deserve respect on a number of different levels.”