2018 Time’s ‘Person Of The Year’: Killed And imprisoned Journalists

By Luke Miller,

Time magazine has shortlisted a group of journalists who have all been targeted for their work.

Time magazine has labeled this years shortlist for “Person of the Year” as the “The Guardians.” They are the journalists who have been targeted for their work.  Currently, there is a war on freedom of speech which has subtly gone under the radar. Many Facebook pages in what many would consider “alternative” media have been targeted and those with voices which go against the “agreed upon” narrative are being silenced under the guise of fake news.

This is a global affair and a theme for Times “Person of the Year” 2018.

Jamal Khashoggi

Image Credit Time Magazine 

Time Report:

“A prolific commentator and critic of Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, journalist Jamal Khashoggi was last seen entering the country’s consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2. Believed to have been murdered on the orders of the Crown Prince, his death prompted international outcry and scrutiny of the Saudi regime.”

The Capital Gazette 

Image Credit Time Magazine 

Four journalists and a sales associate were shot and killed in a mass shooting at Maryland’s state capital newspaper in June. This was in retaliation to a newspaper article published in 2011 about the shooter being put on probation for harassment of an acquaintance through social media and email. The shooter brought a defamation lawsuit against to The Capital, which a judge later dismissed.

Wa Lone And Kyaw Soe Oo

Wives of journalists holding photos of detained journalist Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo Image Credit Time

A Myanmar judge sentenced these journalists to seven years in prison in September for reporting on colonial-era state secrets law and breaking the story of the military’s mass killing of Rohingya Muslims.

Maria Ressa

Image Credit Time

The former CNN reporter started an online news site called “Rappler” in 2012 and has been critical of the Philippine’s President Rodrigo Duterte. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, the coverage earned Rappler a “campaign of legal harassment” from Duterte’s Department of Justice.