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The World Press Prize Rappler’s Maria Ressa Should Be Pursuing In Her Journalism


Let me deal with the YES first. Yes, CEO of Rappler Maria Ressa is going to receive a world-class award in a few days, the “UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize for 2021.”

The source of the news is ANN (Author Not Named, “Rappler’s Maria Ressa Gets Prestigious UNESCO Press Freedom Award[1],” Rappler.com). UNESCO made the announcement on Tuesday, 27 April. She will receive the award on Sunday, 02 May – the World Press Freedom Day will be celebrated the day after, Monday, 03 May.

She won the World Press Freedom Prize for her previous & present “unerring fight for freedom of expression,” ANN says. She is “set to receive a prestigious press freedom prize from UNESCO for her fight for free speech in the Philippines, serving as a model for journalists under siege around the world.” The UNESCO prize, worth $25,000, “recognizes outstanding contributions to the defense or promotion of press freedom especially in the face of danger.”

Let me deal with the NO next. No, Maria Ressa is not going to receive the highest award she can get – because she has not set sight on it, and UNESCO has not thought of it. The award? I shall now invent and call it “The Good Press World Freedom Prize.” The prize is $1,000,000 (1 million). The Good Press Prize “recognizes outstanding contributions to the promotion of the public good in the face of hunger.”

On the one hand, the World Press Prize is earned by journalistic exposés – of course, that is accomplished “in the face of danger” because the journalist is digging out political dirt!

On the other hand, the Good Press Prize would be earned only with scientific and technological knowledge & tools exposed by development journalists. Maria Ressa is a journalist digging out the private bad, while what the world needs now are journalists digging out the public good!

In its own website, UNESCO itself says, “Information is a public good.” So why is it not sponsoring a world-wide competition among journalists for bringing out information for the public good and not for bringing out the politicians’ private bad? That is to say, UNESCO is missing its own message, or not listening to it!

I agree. Maria Ressa deserves the World Prize, according to the current yardstick of UNESCO. A brave lady.

If she changes perspective and goes after information as a public good? An intelligent lady.

Since I am an agriculturist, let me concentrate on that. I mean by “public good” any information about the technologies & systems for producing, postharvest handling, processing, storage and marketing of farm produce, that is, crops and animals – as well as fishery products.

Maria Ressa will then be espousing the fight in the Philippines for the public to be informed of discovered knowledge – scientific findings translated into popular language the people can see the need of and understand what they have to do for their own social good – she serving as model for journalists serving the public good around the world!@517


[1]https://www.rappler.com/bulletin-board/maria-ressa-gets-unesco-press-freedom-award-2021?fbclid=IwAR2-BqC8JvIrxBtlBtTe7SxDncc0vXmhdt5bhh35hrma3Qz1ZcqZQiRfBxw

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