Time magazine has named four journalists and a US newspaper targeted for their work, among them the murdered Saudi columnist Jamal Khashoggi and two Reuters reporters imprisoned in Myanmar, as its 2018 Person of the Year.
The group, collectively referred to as "The Guardians", also includes an arrested Philippine journalist and the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland, where five people were shot and killed at the newspaper’s offices in June.
The magazine recognises the person or group of people who most influenced the news and the world "for better or for worse" during the past year. Time says The Guardians "are representatives of a broader fight by countless others around the world”.
Time editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal announced the news on NBC’s Today show on Tuesday, and credited the journalists "for taking great risks in pursuit of greater truths, for the imperfect but essential quest for facts that are central to civil discourse, for speaking up and for speaking out”.
The winners are featured in a four-page spread, Guardians and the War on Truth, which describes a growing distrust of the media and rising number of attacks on journalists. Mr Felsenthal said as of December 10 at least 52 journalists have been murdered in 2018.
Reuters
Khashoggi was killed two months ago when the Washington Post columnist, who had lived in the US, visited Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Turkey for paperwork so he could get married. He had been critical of the Saudi regime.
Maria Ressa is an award-winning Philippine journalist who, along with the online news service she heads, has been sued for tax evasion. Her website has been critical of the government of Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, and she claims the charges are politically motivated.
Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo have been imprisoned for nearly a year in Myanmar after investigating a massacre of Rohingya Muslims.
Four journalists and a sales assistant were killed by a gunman at the Capital Gazette newspaper in June.
Reuters
This year is the first that a deceased person has been awarded the title. Mr Felsenthal said: “It’s also very rare that a person’s influence grows so immensely in death”. He added that Khashoggi’s murder “has prompted a global reassessment of the Saudi crown prince and a really long overdue look at the devastating war in Yemen".
Last year the magazine chose The Silence Breakers, the individuals who spoke up about sexual harassment and assault following the Harvey Weinstein revelations. In 2016 the editors chose Donald Trump, fresh from his victory in the US presidential elections. White House victory. Mr Trump, whose battle with US journalists has become increasingly tense, was named runner-up this year.
"His ultimate impact may be determined as much by the resistance he engenders as by the goals he pursues," the magazine said.
Special prosecutor Robert Mueller was third runner-up.