COPENHAGEN, Denmark -- The two journalists who share this year's Nobel Peace Prize received their awards Friday during a pomp-filled ceremony in Norway, with both warning that the world needs independent reporting to counter the power of authoritarian governments.
Maria Ressa of the Philippines and Dmitry Muratov of Russia gave their Nobel lectures at Oslo City Hall. The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded them the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize for their fights for freedom of expression in countries where reporters have faced persistent attacks, harassment and killings.
"Yes, we growl and bite. Yes, we have sharp teeth and strong grip," Muratov said of journalists. "But we are the prerequisite for progress. We are the antidote against tyranny."
Muratov also used his speech to give a dire warning about the potential for a war between Russia and Ukraine. A Russian troop buildup near Ukraine's border has led to Western diplomatic efforts to prevent an invasion, which the Kremlin has denied it is planning.
"In (the) heads of some crazy geopoliticians, a war between Russia and Ukraine is not something impossible any longer. But I know that wars end with identifying soldiers and exchanging prisoners," Muratov said.
Ressa, 58, co-founded Rappler, a news website critical of the Philippine government, in 2012. Muratov, 59, was one of the founders in 1993 of the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta.
Ressa, the first person from the Philippines to win the Nobel Peace Prize, offered a bleak assessment of the journalism industry, saying "the era of competition for news is dead."
"We need to help independent journalism survive, first by giving greater protection to journalists and standing up against states which target journalists," she told the pandemic-reduced audience of 200 people, including Norwegian royals and officials.
Ressa, who was visibly moved, couldn't resist taking a selfie with Muratov in Oslo City Hall before the arrival of the Norwegian royals.
Together with the medals featuring the effigy of prize founder Alfred Nobel and a diploma came 10 million kronor, or $1.1 million, to be shared between them.
Norwegian Nobel Committee chairwoman Berit Reiss-Andersen said free speech and information are "a basic prerequisite for democracy itself." The laureates "are participants in a war where the written word is their weapon, where truth is their goal and every exposure of misuse of power is a victory."
Muratov said that in Russia, journalism "is going through a dark valley" with many reporters and human rights activists being branded as "foreign agents."
"Many of our colleagues have lost their jobs. Some have to leave the country. Some are deprived of the opportunity to live a normal life for an unknown period of time. Maybe forever ..."
Muratov ended his lecture by asking the assembly to honor reporters "who have given their lives for this profession, with a minute of silence. I want journalists to die old."
On Thursday, the Brussels-based International Federation of Journalists said imprisonment of media workers is on the rise, with 365 journalists behind bars compared with 235 last year. Nine journalists have been killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan alone and 102 imprisoned in China.
Russia has 12 journalists behind bars, and three reporters were killed in the Philippines this year, it said.
Nobel Peace Prize recipients Maria Ressa of the Philippines and Dmitry Muratov embrace during ceremonies Friday at Oslo City Hall in Norway. The Nobel Committee cited the journalists’ fight for freedom of expression in countries where reporters have faced violence. “Yes, we growl and bite. Yes, we have sharp teeth and strong grip,” Muratov said of journalists. “But we are the prerequisite for progress. We are the antidote against tyranny.” More photos at arkansasonline.com/1211oslo/. (AP/Alexander Zemlianichenko)Gallery: Nobel Committee salutes Peace Prize winners
