Journalists Maria Ressa and Dmitri Muratov were this Friday, October 8, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 2021, “”for the courageous struggle for freedom of expression in the Philippines and Russia”.
Berit Reiss-Andersen, chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, stressed that the two winners, “at the same time, are representatives of all journalists who defend this ideal in a world where democracy and press freedom face increasingly adverse conditions”.
Filipino journalist Maria Ressa, reacting to the Nobel Peace Prize award, stressed that “when we live in a world where facts are debatable, when the world's largest news distributor prioritizes the dissemination of lies mixed with anger and hatred and spreads them faster and further than the facts, then journalism becomes activism”.
“I think the Nobel Peace Prize committee realized that a world without facts is a world without truth and without trust. It's an acknowledgment of how difficult it is to be a journalist today. How difficult it is to continue to do what we do… It's an acknowledgment that we are the ones who stand up to the last line of defense for the truth, but also, hopefully, that we will win this battle,” he concluded.
The Union of Journalists has already congratulated Maria Ressa and Dmitri Muratov for the Nobel Peace Prize, an award that it considers “a fair recognition of the courage they both demonstrated in the struggle for Press Freedom, by exercising their profession in an adverse context, of pressure and threats to their own lives. , but also the recognition of the importance of Journalism in our society”.
The SJ salutes the Nobel Committee “for the courage and acumen to reward two journalists who risk their lives for the sake of free and unbiased information, and considers the courage of Maria and Dmitrov – who saw several comrades of the “Novaya Gazeta” fall murdered – is an example for all who make this profession a way of being in life, more than just a way of life or a livelihood”.
Considering that this distinction is “a historic moment for Journalism”, the SJ “pays tribute to all the comrades who, over the years, have carried out this profession, which has never been easy, and also remembers those who, in Portugal and in the world , fell in defense of the Freedom of the Press, the right to free expression and the fight for Democracy”.
“At a time when a lot of information circulates around the world, particularly on the Internet, produced by dubious sources and with the support of hidden interests”, the SJ underlines “the importance of free, independent and solid Journalism for the construction of a more society. fairer and freer”.
The SJ warns of the danger posed by, among various types of pressure, “the proliferation of false information, the piracy of journalistic material, draining the media of vital financial resources, and the worsening of the underfunding of the Media in Portugal”.
“The pandemic crisis has added to a structural financial crisis in the sector, to which the political power seems indifferent, ignoring that without a strong Press it is difficult to do rigorous and independent journalism”, also considers the Union of Journalists.
The SJ also underlines that it has “fought for the funding of the media in Portugal, having organized a conference on the theme, in December 2019. parties and the Government, without which, in these years, we have received more than kind words, of respect for the importance of journalism, without any concrete act of value to help strengthen the profession, as it needs to be able to face the growing challenges of a world in constant change”.
“It is not enough to recognize the importance of journalism. The current moment requires action, more than pretty words. In September, the SJ sent a series of proposals to the parties and the government that it considers essential for the safeguarding of journalism in Portugal. If there is a desire, they can be included in the State Budget for 2022, contributing to a better sustainability of the sector and thus helping to promote better journalism, a more informed, more attentive society, hence more fair and egalitarian”, adds the Union.
“It is not enough to recognize the importance of journalism. The current moment requires action. More than empty words of comfort, it is time to follow the example of the Norwegian Nobel Committee”, concludes the SJ, in a statement.
The Portuguese Press Association has also reacted to the award of this Nobel Peace Prize. API recalls that it was with great honor that it received Maria Ressa at the 70th WAN-IFRA World Congress, in Estoril, co-organized by this Association, and where the journalist from the Philippines won the award Golden Pen of Freedom.
At the time, Ressa said: “My heart breaks when I look at what our young reporters have to live – and the courage they show in the face of brute force and impunity… the respect they continue to show the authorities, the nightmares with which they fight at night, the mission that lives within them”.
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