Photo: MOHAMMED AL-SHAIKH/AFP/Getty
“The Guardians and the War on Truth”— journalists includingJamal Khashoggi, Maria Ressa, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, and the staff of theCapital Gazettein Annapolis, Maryland — were given the honor.
“We chose to highlight four individuals in one group who have taken great risks in pursuing the truth,” Felsenthal explained on Tuesday.
Accompanying the online article revealing the winners, a note explains, “For taking great risks in pursuit of greater truths, for the imperfect but essential quest for facts, for speaking up and for speaking out, the Guardians— Jamal Khashoggi, the Capital Gazette, Maria Ressa, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo—are TIME’s Person of the Year.”
The annual designation names figures who have impacted current events.
“The Guardians” bested PresidentDonald Trump, who was among the 10 names or groups on the shortlist released just one day ahead of the formal announcement. On Tuesday, it was revealed that Trump was the 2018 runner-up, as Fesenthal explained, “There’s always a strong case for the president of the United States.”
His foe, special counselRobert Mueller— who isinvestigating Trump’s presidential campaign— was the third runner-up.
TIME
Saudi Arabian journalist Khashoggi — a formerWashington Postcolumnist — was murdered in Istanbul in October. Areportreleased the next month revealed that the CIA has concluded that Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was responsible for ordering his murder.
Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo are Reuters reporters that were arrested in Myanmar and charged with a rarely-used colonial law while investigating the Rohingya refugee crisis.
Ressa is the editor of Philippines online news site Rappler, and theCapital Gazettewas the site of a mass shooting over the summer, during which five staffers were killed in the Annapolis newspaper’s newsroom.
Among the other shortlist members for the 2018 honor wereVladimir Putin, whowas named Person of the Yearin 2007; the March for Our Lives activists;Meghan Markle;Christine Blasey Ford, the professor whoaccused Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assaultbefore hewas confirmedas a Supreme Court justice; separated migrant families; Ryan Coogler, the director whohelmedBlack Panther; and Moon Jae-in, South Korea’s president.
RELATED VIDEO: United Nations Audience Laughs at President Trump After He Boasts About His Accomplishments
In 2017,Time‘s Person of the Year were the “silence breakers”— those who spoke out against sexual harassment and assault and launched the #MeToo movement. Among the more famous faces who covered the groundbreaking issue wereTaylor Swiftand Ashley Judd.
The year prior, Trump was given the honor — he’s been on the shortlist every year since.
source: people.com
