“I stand before you, a representative of every journalist around the world who is forced to sacrifice so much to hold the line, to stay true to our values and mission: to bring you the truth and hold power to account.”

Ressa accepted the award as a representation of journalists all around the world, thanking them for “keeping us safe and working”.

“By giving this to journalists today – thank you – the Nobel committee is signaling a similar historical moment, another existential point for democracy,” she said, thanking journalists all around the world.

The last time a working journalist received the Nobel Peace Prize was back in 1935.

“But there are so many more journalists persecuted in the shadows with neither exposure nor support, and governments are doubling down with impunity. The accelerant is technology when creative destruction takes a new meaning,” she said, making reference to many journalists that were assassinated in their line of work all over the world.

“We need to help independent journalism survive, first by giving greater protection to journalists and standing up against states which target journalists,” she emphasised.

Ressa is the first Filipino to win the award and has become a literal icon for press freedom and democracy all over the world.

A documentary film was also produced about Ressa back in 2020 called ‘A Thousand Cuts’ which explores the conflicts between the press and the Filipino government under President Rodrigo Duterte.

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