Maria Ressa facts for kids

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In this Philippine name, the middle name or maternal family name is Delfin and the surname or paternal family name is Aycardo.

Quick facts for kids Maria Ressa
Ressa at the International Journalism Festival in 2024
Born	Maria Angelita Delfin Aycardo (1963-10-02) October 2, 1963 (age 61) Manila, Philippines
Nationality	Filipino American
Education	Princeton University (BA) University of the Philippines Diliman
Occupation	Journalist author
Known for	Co-founding Rappler

Maria Angelita Ressa (Tagalog pronunciation: [ˈɾesa]; born Maria Angelita Delfin Aycardo on October 2, 1963) is a Filipino and American journalist. She is the co-founder and CEO of Rappler. She previously spent nearly two decades working as a lead investigative reporter in Southeast Asia for CNN. She is a Professor of Professional Practice in the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University and has been a Distinguished Fellow at Columbia's new Institute of Global Politics since fall of 2023.

Ressa was born in Manila and raised in Toms River, New Jersey. She was included in Time's Person of the Year 2018 issue featuring a collection of journalists from around the world actively combatting fake news. On February 13, 2019, she was arrested by Philippine authorities for cyberlibel due to accusations that Rappler published a false news story concerning businessman Wilfredo Keng. On June 15, 2020, a court in Manila found her guilty of cyberlibel under the controversial Anti-Cybercrime law, a move condemned by human rights groups and journalists as an attack on press freedom. As she is a prominent critic of the then Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, her arrest and conviction was seen by many in the opposition and the international community as a politically motivated act by Duterte's government. Ressa is one of the 25 leading figures on the Information and Democracy Commission launched by Reporters Without Borders. She was awarded the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize jointly with Dmitry Muratov for "their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace."

Early life
Career
Awards and recognition
- Nobel Peace Prize
Personal life
Published works
Others
See also

Early life

Ressa was born in Manila in October 1963. Ressa's father Phil Sunico Aycardo, a Chinese-Filipino, died when she was one year old. She grew up speaking only Filipino and studied at St. Scholastica's College in Manila. Her mother Hermelina then moved to the United States, leaving Ressa and her sister with their father's family, but would visit her two children frequently. Subsequently, her mother married an Italian-American man named Peter Ames Ressa and returned to the Philippines. She brought both of her children to New Jersey, United States when Ressa was ten years old. Ressa was adopted by her stepfather and she took his last name. Her parents then relocated to Toms River, New Jersey, where she went to Toms River High School North, a public school nearby. Ressa had to learn the English language, and by high school stood out as a member of the Theater Guild and student council.

Her yearbook profile included her dreams to set out and conquer the world. Ressa was an undergraduate student at Princeton University, where she graduated cum laude with an A.B. in English and certificates in theater and dance in 1986. She completed a 77-page-long senior thesis titled "Sagittarius." She then was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to study political theater at the University of the Philippines Diliman where she also taught several journalism courses as a faculty member in the university.

Career

Ressa conducts an interview with former Philippine President Benigno Aquino III at the Music Room of the Malacañang Palace, June 7, 2016

Ressa's first job was at government station PTV 4. She then co-founded independent production company Probe in 1987, and simultaneously served as CNN's bureau chief in Manila until 1995. She then ran CNN's Jakarta bureau from 1995 to 2005. As CNN's lead investigative reporter in Asia, she specialized in investigating terrorist networks. She became an author-in-residence at the International Center for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR) of Nanyang Technological University's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.

Ressa at her office

From 2004, Ressa headed the news division of ABS-CBN, while also writing for CNN, and The Wall Street Journal. In September 2010, she wrote a piece for The Wall Street Journal criticising the then president Benigno Aquino III handling of the bus hostage crisis. This piece was published two weeks before the president's official visit to the United States of America. Speculations were rife that this, among other reasons, finally led to Ressa leaving the company in 2010, after deciding not to renew her contract.

Ressa is a fellow at the Initiative on the Digital Economy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is a 2021 Joan Shorenstein Fellow at the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy and Hauser Leader at the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard Kennedy School. As a Professor of Professional Practice at Columbia University's Institute of Global Politics, Ressa leads projects related to AI and democracy.

In 2023, she joined The Intercept's board of directors.

Books

She is the author of three books concerning the rise of terrorism in Southeast Asia—Seeds of Terror: An Eyewitness Account of Al-Qaeda's Newest Center (2003) and From Bin Laden to Facebook: 10 Days of Abduction, 10 Years of Terrorism (2013). and How to Stand Up To a Dictator (2022).

Teaching

Ressa has also taught courses in politics and the press in Southeast Asia for Princeton University, and broadcast journalism for the University of the Philippines Diliman.

Rappler

Ressa established the online news site Rappler in 2012 along with three other female founders and with a small team of 12 journalists and developers. It initially started as a Facebook page named MovePH in August 2011, evolving into a complete website on January 1, 2012. The site became one of the first multimedia news websites in the Philippines and a major news portal in the Philippines, receiving numerous local and international awards. She serves as the Executive Editor and Chief Executive Officer of the news website.

"Real Content Oversight Board"

On September 25, 2020, Ressa became one the 25 members of the "Real Facebook Oversight Board," an independent watchdog group established to provide public commentary on Facebook's content moderation policies and role in civic life.

UN Internet Governance Forum

Ressa was among the ten members of the leadership panel appointed in August 2022 in support of the United Nations' Internet Governance Forum, an annual discussion focusing on addressing issues concerning the internet.

Awards and recognition

Ressa winning the 2018 Free Speech Award from the Tully Center

Ressa has won an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Investigative Journalism, the Asian Television Awards, TOWNS – Ten Outstanding Women in the Nation's Service (Philippines) and TOYM Philippines.

In 2015, the Philippine Movie Press Club awarded Ressa with an Excellence in Broadcasting Lifetime Achievement award at the 29th PMPC Star Awards for Television.
In 2016, she was listed as one of the eight most influential and powerful leaders in the Philippines by Kalibrr.
In November 2017, Ressa, as the CEO of news organization Rappler, accepted the 2017 Democracy Award awarded by the National Democratic Institute to three organizations at its annual Democracy Award Dinner in Washington, D.C., entitled "Disinformation vs. Democracy: Fighting for Facts".
In May 2018, Ressa received the Knight International Journalism Award, where she was described as "an intrepid editor and media innovator who holds a spotlight to the Philippine government’s bloody war on drugs."
In June 2018, Ressa received the World Association of Newspapers's Golden Pen of Freedom Award for her work with Rappler.
In November 2018, the Committee to Protect Journalists awarded Ressa with the Gwen Ifill Press Freedom Award in "recognition of her journalistic courage in the face of persistent official harassment."
In December 2018, she was included in Time's Person of the Year 2018, as one of "The Guardians", a number of journalists from around the world combating the "War on Truth." Ressa is the second Filipino to receive the title after former President Corazon Aquino in 1986.
In February 2019, Ressa received the Ka Pepe Diokno Human Rights Award together with Bishop Pablo Virgilio Ambo David from the Tañada-Diokno College of Law at De La Salle University and the Jose W. Diokno Foundation, as presented by Dean Chel Diokno.
In April 2019, she was included in Time's 100 Most Influential People in the World.
In May 2019, Ressa won the Columbia Journalism Award from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, the school's highest honor, "for the depth and quality of her work, as well as her courage and persistence in the field."
In June 2019, Ressa received the Canadian Journalism Foundation's Tribute honour, which recognizes a journalist who has made an impact on the international stage.
In October 2019, Ressa was named on the BBC's list of 100 Women.
In April 2021, Ressa won the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize.
In November 2022, Ressa received an honorary degree from MacEwan University in Edmonton, Canada.
In February 2022, Ressa received Princeton University's highest undergraduate alumni honor, the Woodrow Wilson Award.
In June 2023, Ressa received an honorary degree in sociology from the Ateneo de Manila University after giving the commencement speech.
In 2024, Ressa was named Harvard University's commencement speaker. Her selection drew her into the controversy of on-campus protests about the Israel-Hamas War. In addition, she stated in the speech itself, "“I was attacked online and called antisemitic, by power and money. Because they want power and money. While the other side was already attacking me because I had been onstage with Hillary Clinton. Hard to win, right?”. Rabbi Hirschy Zarchi of Harvard walked off the stage.
Ressa is the 2024 Cannes LionHeart recipient, Simon Cook, CEO announced. She will deliver a keynote address at Debussy Stage on June 21.

Nobel Peace Prize

Nobel Prize winners Ressa and Muratov

Ressa was nominated for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize by prime minister and leader of the Norwegian Labour Party Jonas Gahr Støre. On October 8, 2021, Ressa was officially announced as the recipient of the prize alongside Dmitry Muratov of the Russian Federation. They were awarded the prize "for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace". Ressa and Muratov are the first journalists since 1935 to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

Personal life

Ressa is openly lesbian.

Published works

From Bin Laden to Facebook: 10 Days of Abduction, 10 Years of Terrorism. Imperial College Press. 2013. ISBN 978-1908979537.

Others

In October 2024, Maria Ressa viewed the 2024 United States elections as a tipping point in the fight for democracy, pointing out that Big Tech sided with autocrats and dictators. She argued that the collective action of fact-based media would be essential for restoring trust in public institutions.