I'm Brian Lerer. This is my Daily Politics Podcast from WNYC Studios. It's Friday, October 8th.

The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded today to two journalists, Maria Ressa, the first Filipino to win a Nobel Prize, by the way,

and Dmitri Moritov of Russia. Here is Barrett Reese Anderson, the chair of the Nobel Committee,

making the announcement. The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2021 to Maria Ressa and Dimitri Muratov for their efforts

to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace.

To talk now about today's prize, I'm joined by Robert Mahoney, Deputy Executive Director

of the nonprofit group, the Committee to protect journalists, which has the mission

of doing exactly that, to help protect journalists in places around the world where they face

danger. Robert, thanks for joining us. Welcome to WNYC. Thank you. A pleasure to be here.

So these are brand new names to most people in our audience. So what can you tell us about these two

winners and the publications that each co-founded, the publication Rappler in the Philippines,

and Noviah Gazeta in Russia? Well, first of all, let me tell me, let me tell you that I, like many

journalists, are thrilled at this award this morning

because it comes at a time when journalists and journalism are under threat around the world.

Maria Ressa is a former CNN correspondent in the Philippines and in Jakarta, who was educated in the U.S., in New Jersey, actually,

and then went back to the Philippines, where she founded an online news site called Rappler

to counter some of the lies that were coming out through government-owned media.

And because of that, she has been targeted and is facing jail.

And Dmitri Muratov is a longtime journalist who founded a newspaper back in 1993

called Novaya Gazeta, which has been a thorn in the side of the Kremlin for many, many years.

And that's a paper which has done really great investigative journalism and has paid a terrible price.

Six of its staff have been murdered over the last 20-odd years.

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