679: What It’s Like to Start an Online News Network With Maria Ressa, Rappler [Main T4C episode]

Maria Ressa is the CEO and executive editor of Rappler, an online news network based in the Philippines. Rappler’s mission is to tell stories that create conversations and change among their community of readers. Rappler and Maria have both faced numerous legal issues, as the news network continues to report on sensitive stories that are at times highly critical of the current government. Prior to founding Rappler, Maria worked as a CNN Bureau Chief in the Philippines for 18 years. In 2018, Maria was included in a group of journalists honored by Time magazine as their Person of The Year and was also honored in 2019 as one of their 100 Most Influential People. She graduated from Princeton University in 1986 with a B.A. in English, Theatre and Dance. WHAT YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT IN THIS EPISODE: What inspired Maria to co-found Rappler (6:20) How the emergence of tech has changed journalism (11:00) What Maria does as CEO and executive editor of Rappler (18:50) How the authoritarian government in the Philippines has tried to shut down Rappler (24:00) How Rappler deals with the issue of disinformation (27:00) What has been happening in the Philippines that makes a platform like Rappler so necessary (34:00) What it’s like working in a country where journalists are considered criminals (36:00) What Maria did when she graduated and how she began working in the Philippines (43:00)