Maria A. Ressa

Maria Ressa is the chief executive officer of Rappler, Inc., which operates the news website Rappler.com. Before co-founding Rappler, Inc. in 2011, she was part of several media organizations, including American news outlet CNN where she served as bureau chief in Manila (1987 to 1995) and Jakarta (1995 to 2005), covering various issues, among them terrorism in Southeast Asia. In 2005, she became senior vice president for multimedia news operations of ABS-CBN, where she previously worked as a director/producer for the television show Probe in 1987 before joining CNN.

Aside from her role as CEO, she is part- owner of the media company. While a minority shareholder in Rappler, Inc. with 0.53% shares, Ressa is also involved in Rappler’s parent company, Rappler Holdings Corporation, where aside from her position as president, she is the second biggest stockholder with a 23.77% stake.

In the past, she also served as director of newscasts and later as head of special projects of the state-owned People’s Television upon returning to the Philippines in 1986 to take up material studies at the University of the Philippines Diliman, where she also used to teach broadcast principles.

Ressa, who holds both Filipino and American citizenships according to a 2022 Rappler.com article, obtained her bachelor’s degree in English and certificates in theater and dance from Princeton University in 1986. Her family emigrated to the United States in 1973 after the imposition of Martial Law in 1972.

Ressa is also involved in other organizations as chairperson of the World Movement for Democracy Steering Committee, a U.S-based global network of individuals and organizations including Rappler that promote democracy. She is also a co-chair of the board of International Fund for Public Interest Media, and a member of the board of directors of the U.S.-based media outlets The Intercept and Coda Story.

In 2021, she was awarded the Nobel peace prize, together with Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov “for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression …” in their own countries.

Other awards given to Ressa include “2018 Person of the Year” by Time Magazine, the Golden Pen of Freedom Award from the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (2018), and the Shorenstein Journalism Award from Stanford University (2019), and Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize from the UNESCO (2021).

Ressa was a target of harassment and vilification by former president Rodrigo Duterte. She was charged with tax evasion and faced various legal charges such as tax evasion and cyber libel conviction under the administration of former president Rodrigo Duterte. According to her profile on Rappler.com, she was “forced to bail ten times to stay free” due to constant political harassment and arrest under the Duterte government.

In the view of the global pro-democracy non-profit Freedom House, the Duterte government targeted Ressa in connection with Rappler.com’s critical coverage of the former president and his controversial war on drugs that allegedly caused the deaths of an estimated 12,000 to 30,000 suspected drug personalities, prompting an investigation by the Netherlands-based International Criminal Court.

Throughout her years of working as a journalist, she has written at least three books about her experiences in covering terrorism. Her latest book is entitled “How to Stand up to a Dictator.”