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posted by chromas on Tuesday December 11 2018, @10:22PM   Printer-friendly

TIME Person of the Year 2018: The Guardians

Every detail of Jamal Khashoggi's killing made it a sensation: the time stamp on the surveillance video that captured the Saudi journalist entering his country's Istanbul consulate on Oct. 2; the taxiway images of the private jets bearing his assassins; the bone saw; the reports of his final words, "I can't breathe," recorded on audio as the life was choked from him.

But the crime would not have remained atop the world news for two months if not for the epic themes that Khashoggi himself was ever alert to, and spent his life placing before the public. His death laid bare the true nature of a smiling prince, the utter absence of morality in the Saudi-U.S. alliance and—in the cascade of news feeds and alerts, posts and shares and links—the centrality of the question Khashoggi was killed over: Whom do you trust to tell the story?

[...] In the Philippines, a 55-year-old woman named Maria Ressa steers Rappler, an online news site she helped found, through a superstorm of the two most formidable forces in the information universe: social media and a populist President with authoritarian inclinations. Rappler has chronicled the violent drug war and extrajudicial killings of President Rodrigo Duterte that have left some 12,000 people dead, according to a January estimate from Human Rights Watch. The Duterte government refuses to accredit a Rappler journalist to cover it, and in November charged the site with tax fraud, allegations that could send Ressa to prison for up to 10 years.

In Annapolis, Md., staff of the Capital, a newspaper published by Capital Gazette Communications, which traces its history of telling readers about the events in Maryland to before the American Revolution, press on without the five colleagues gunned down in their newsroom on June 28. Still intact, indeed strengthened after the mass shooting, are the bonds of trust and community that for national news outlets have been eroded on strikingly partisan lines, never more than this year.

And in prison in Myanmar, two young Reuters reporters remain separated from their wives and children, serving a sentence for defying the ethnic divisions that rend that country. For documenting the deaths of 10 minority Rohingya Muslims, Kyaw Soe Oo and Wa Lone got seven years. The killers they exposed were sentenced to 10.

This year brought no shortage of other examples. Bangladeshi photographer Shahidul Alam was jailed for more than 100 days for making "false" and "provocative" statements after criticizing Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in an interview about mass protests in Dhaka. In Sudan, freelance journalist Amal Habani was arrested while covering economic protests, detained for 34 days and beaten with electric rods. In Brazil, reporter Patricia Campos Mello was targeted with threats after reporting that supporters of President-elect Jair Bolsonaro had funded a campaign to spread false news stories on WhatsApp. And Victor Mallet, Asia news editor for the Financial Times, was forced out of Hong Kong after inviting an activist to speak at a press club event against the wishes of the Chinese government. Worldwide, a record number of journalists—262 in total—were imprisoned in 2017, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, which expects the total to be high again this year.

This ought to be a time when democracy leaps forward, an informed citizenry being essential to self-government. Instead, it's in retreat. Three decades after the Cold War defeat of a blunt and crude autocracy, a more clever brand takes nourishment from the murk that surrounds us. The old-school despot embraced censorship. The modern despot, finding that more difficult, foments mistrust of credible fact, thrives on the confusion loosed by social media and fashions the illusion of legitimacy from supplicants.

Also at Reuters, CNN, The Washington Post, Bloomberg, and MarketWatch.

See also: How We Chose the Guardians
K-Pop Band BTS Wins Time Reader's Poll For Person Of The Year


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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by DeathMonkey on Tuesday December 11 2018, @10:35PM (26 children)

    by DeathMonkey (1380) on Tuesday December 11 2018, @10:35PM (#773142) Journal

    Seems like murdering a journalist would be something the people who are always going on about free speech would be opposed to...

    • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 11 2018, @10:44PM (18 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 11 2018, @10:44PM (#773152)

      Most people who are going on about free speech aren't murdering journalists.

      • (Score: 3, Insightful) by DeathMonkey on Tuesday December 11 2018, @10:48PM (15 children)

        by DeathMonkey (1380) on Tuesday December 11 2018, @10:48PM (#773156) Journal

        But they are giving cover to the ones that are.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 11 2018, @10:54PM (11 children)

          by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 11 2018, @10:54PM (#773159)

          You are painting with your broad brush again. How about you identify the group you are trying to whine about?

          • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 11 2018, @11:00PM (6 children)

            by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 11 2018, @11:00PM (#773163)

            You can tell by the President's body language that either they ordered, or knew about the murderous act. The administration is in shambles and only the opposition in the media and congress can save us.

            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 11 2018, @11:27PM (3 children)

              by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 11 2018, @11:27PM (#773175)

              Murder is a rather specific type of killing. Most importantly, it is a killing that is not sanctioned by the state.

              You could call this one an execution.

              A funny thing about Saudi Arabia is that the leader, being an absolute monarch, can't possibly commit a crime. Well, at least he can't commit a crime without declaring that his own actions are a crime, but that would be weird. You could commit a crime under the law of Saudi Arabia, even retroactively, if he feels that you have committed one.

              • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 12 2018, @12:25AM (2 children)

                by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 12 2018, @12:25AM (#773205)

                I didn't mention "murder". I mentioned a "murderous act".

                • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 12 2018, @12:20PM (1 child)

                  by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 12 2018, @12:20PM (#773419)

                  Other than murder or attempted murder, what would be a "murderous act"?

                  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 13 2018, @12:34AM

                    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 13 2018, @12:34AM (#773803)

                    Failure to prevent climate change.

            • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Wednesday December 12 2018, @01:57AM (1 child)

              by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday December 12 2018, @01:57AM (#773239) Journal

              The administration is in shambles and only the opposition in the media and congress can save us.

              1. "Save you" from what exactly?
              2. (after answering to 1.) Are you sure the cure is not worse than the illness? (re the "opposition in congress")
              3. (after answering to 1.) Are you sure you can't do something about it yourself?
              --
              https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
              • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 12 2018, @02:10AM

                by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 12 2018, @02:10AM (#773244)

                3. (after answering to 1.) Are you sure the cure is not worse than the illness? (re the "opposition in congress")

                - Yes.

                2. (after answering to 1.) Are you sure you can't do something about it yourself?

                - No, this is why we vote.

                1. "Save you" from what exactly?

                - Save us from the poor policies of the administration/

          • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 12 2018, @01:19AM (2 children)

            by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 12 2018, @01:19AM (#773225)

            If I read DeathMonkey incorrectly, he probably means the vendetta those who control the DNC have for a very important journalist who is currently in grave danger: Julian Assange. Khashoggi's fate shows what happens to those who speak truth to power.

            Journalists like Julian Assange are heroes who literally put their lives on the line. The ruling elites are fully capable of using murder to suppress free speech.

            • (Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday December 12 2018, @05:54PM (1 child)

              by DeathMonkey (1380) on Wednesday December 12 2018, @05:54PM (#773558) Journal

              If I read DeathMonkey incorrectly, he probably means the vendetta those who control the DNC have for a very important journalist who is currently in grave danger: Julian Assange.

              Yeah, 'cause the DNC is running the Justice Department right now.

              Oh no, that's the Trump administration.

              • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 12 2018, @06:49PM

                by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 12 2018, @06:49PM (#773603)

                are you some kind of moooron? it doesn't look like the pres is in control of mueller's treasonous pig ass.

          • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Wednesday December 12 2018, @01:53AM

            by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday December 12 2018, @01:53AM (#773237) Journal

            You are painting with your broad brush again.

            "You are saying it as it's a bad thing"
            MDC - since, like, forever

            --
            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
        • (Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Tuesday December 11 2018, @11:15PM

          by fustakrakich (6150) on Tuesday December 11 2018, @11:15PM (#773168) Journal

          How's that? I, too, need an example...

          --
          La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
        • (Score: 2) by hemocyanin on Wednesday December 12 2018, @09:05AM (1 child)

          by hemocyanin (186) on Wednesday December 12 2018, @09:05AM (#773374) Journal

          The only person who pops into mind when you talk about people wanting to kill journalists, is Hillary "can't-we-just-drone-assange" Clinton.

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 12 2018, @05:04PM

            by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 12 2018, @05:04PM (#773526)

            Wait, I thought you said "journalists". He's a journalist like Sean Hannity is a journalist.

      • (Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 11 2018, @11:32PM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 11 2018, @11:32PM (#773177)

        #freearistarchus!!!

        • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 12 2018, @09:28AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 12 2018, @09:28AM (#773381)

          Poor aristarchus, killed by the eds of SoylentNews, cut up into little bits, loaded into diplomatic satchels, transported to foreign lands, fed to Buzzards. And yet they have the gall to post an article like this? Pot! Kettle! Bot! Incel! Irony meter broken for the umpteenth time, without irony. Cobaltory.

    • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 11 2018, @11:20PM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 11 2018, @11:20PM (#773170)

      dude hung out with terrorists (even Osama himself) and is thought to have funded them

      • (Score: 3, Touché) by pe1rxq on Tuesday December 11 2018, @11:43PM (1 child)

        by pe1rxq (844) on Tuesday December 11 2018, @11:43PM (#773184) Homepage

        By that logic he was just as bad as any member of the Reagan administration....

        • (Score: 3, Insightful) by PartTimeZombie on Wednesday December 12 2018, @12:34AM

          by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Wednesday December 12 2018, @12:34AM (#773208)

          That made me think of George HW. The guy who was great friends with bin Laden's family, and who actually did fund him.

    • (Score: 2) by crafoo on Wednesday December 12 2018, @12:01AM

      by crafoo (6639) on Wednesday December 12 2018, @12:01AM (#773194)

      Who says they aren't opposed? You? Strawman much?

    • (Score: 3, Touché) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday December 12 2018, @02:20AM

      by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday December 12 2018, @02:20AM (#773247) Journal

      Can't we just, like, drone them or something?

    • (Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Wednesday December 12 2018, @02:31AM

      by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Wednesday December 12 2018, @02:31AM (#773250) Homepage Journal

      I'm plenty opposed to killing people to silence their speech. It's hard to comment while you're napping though. It's also hard not to shake your head in disgust when someone picks themselves for an award.

      --
      My rights don't end where your fear begins.
    • (Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday December 12 2018, @02:59AM

      by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday December 12 2018, @02:59AM (#773262) Journal

      Seems like murdering a journalist would be something the people who are always going on about free speech would be opposed to...

      And they are so opposed.

      But they are giving cover to the ones that are.

      Nope.

      Now, where do you fall on the "going on about free speech" spectrum?

  • (Score: 4, Funny) by suburbanitemediocrity on Tuesday December 11 2018, @11:22PM (3 children)

    by suburbanitemediocrity (6844) on Tuesday December 11 2018, @11:22PM (#773171)

    a few years ago.

    Overrated IMO

    • (Score: 3, Interesting) by realDonaldTrump on Wednesday December 12 2018, @03:30AM (2 children)

      by realDonaldTrump (6614) on Wednesday December 12 2018, @03:30AM (#773273) Homepage Journal

      This. It's very overrated. Time Magazine called to say that I was PROBABLY going to be "Man (Person) of the Year" like in 2016, but I would have to agree to an interview and a MASSIVE photo shoot. I said, probably is no good -- and took a pass. Thanks anyway!

      It used to be Man of the Year. Even when it was a woman. And it was a very, very great honer. But, they made it politically correct. And a little bit wise guy, right? That's O. K. That could be why the magazine business isn't so great. Millions of new jobs, in so many industries -- because of me. But our Magazines are dieing. Anyway, who cares? I really don't!!!

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 12 2018, @05:11AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 12 2018, @05:11AM (#773307)

        No one does

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 12 2018, @05:41PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 12 2018, @05:41PM (#773549)

        If we change it to "Idiot of the Year" we'll give you a call.

  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Username on Tuesday December 11 2018, @11:34PM (4 children)

    by Username (4557) on Tuesday December 11 2018, @11:34PM (#773178)

    Unless they think they are not the media. Seems like typical lefty aggrandizing about how much better they are and if we just believe them since one time, in a different country, someone else was persecuted for criticizing that foreign government.

    I don't see blurbs about the persecution of Julian Assange or Alex Jones. Wonder where those stories went.

    • (Score: 2, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 11 2018, @11:52PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 11 2018, @11:52PM (#773189)

      blurbs about the persecution of Julian Assange or Alex Jones.

      ♫One of these things is not like the other, one of these things doesn't belong♫

      ♫Can you tell us which is not like the other, before we finish our song?♫

    • (Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Wednesday December 12 2018, @12:37AM

      by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Wednesday December 12 2018, @12:37AM (#773212)

      Wonder where those stories went.

      I'm pretty sure Alex Jones will be whining about how "persecuted" he is.

      That will be where the story went.

    • (Score: 4, Insightful) by hemocyanin on Wednesday December 12 2018, @09:09AM (1 child)

      by hemocyanin (186) on Wednesday December 12 2018, @09:09AM (#773375) Journal

      The MSM isn't "lefty" -- lefties are get censored as hard as anyone -- the MSM is purely pro-oligarchy (whether that be the DNC scented variety or the GOP scented variety).

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 12 2018, @05:52PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 12 2018, @05:52PM (#773554)

        Isn't Alex Jones and Fox News MSM? I mean they're both broadcast nationwide or worldwide and have revenues in excess of hundreds of milliions of dollars a year. Maybe it is just me, but that sure sounds like mainstream to me, even if it is a majority or supermajority of the public.

        Personally though I stopped tuning into either source for news. The only thing I occasionally watch is John Oliver for some of his less partisan jokes and wide spread of random trivia both at home and abroad. Maybe there is a similar conservative show I am missing, but outside of his obviously pro-Democrat stance, a lot of his content is applicable to those of us on both sides of the fence: predatory lending and medical companies, government capture of industries. Scientology (he did a season long 'subliminal' propaganda gag to show people what advertising can be like and to troll scientology at the same time.) While you need to take him with a grain of salt, he has some truly impressive staff backing him and topics varied enough to make you think about something other than just Trump (although he makes lots of those jokes too.)

  • (Score: 2) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Tuesday December 11 2018, @11:57PM

    by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us (6553) on Tuesday December 11 2018, @11:57PM (#773192) Journal

    I guess Donald Trump turned them down again this year, so the went to the other side of the street...

    --
    This sig for rent.
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 12 2018, @12:31AM (6 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 12 2018, @12:31AM (#773207)

    Here, just from today, with Daily Mirror telling a lot more of the truth than virtually every other news outlet:

    https://i.redd.it/6v9d0qxkyo321.jpg [i.redd.it]

    • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 12 2018, @12:56AM (5 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 12 2018, @12:56AM (#773216)

      Just because you misunderstand simple terms doesnt mean the educated do.

      • (Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 12 2018, @01:06AM (3 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 12 2018, @01:06AM (#773219)

        What they take things out of context then twist them to fit whatever they want?

        Maybe you are not as smart as you pretend to be. That is just an example from *today*. If you want you can find you things from a hundred years ago if it would make you feel better about your 'education'.

        They are straight up lying to us. But do not take my word for it. Maybe you can ask Elon Musk what he thinks about 60 minutes (you know one of the stalwarts of 'good news'). He is on twitter and usually responds.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 12 2018, @01:17AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 12 2018, @01:17AM (#773223)

          Its a simple timeline shift.

        • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 12 2018, @01:54AM (1 child)

          by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 12 2018, @01:54AM (#773238)

          An article on wswswswsws today may be relevant to your journalistic insterests. UK government’s role in anti-Corbyn campaign exposed [wsws.org]

          It's likely the entire MSM is compromised by the intelligence services, as in the intelligence services aren't merely "anonymous sources." It's impossible to trust anything from the MSM. We need to look to independent media for the real journalists who dig for the truth.

          the Daily Fail tho.... I guess we'll see if there's anything to OP's link if Truthdig or Counterpunch or similar has something to say.

          • (Score: 0, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 12 2018, @03:04AM

            by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 12 2018, @03:04AM (#773265)

            Add The Root [theroot.com] to that list.

            After befriending a white child at her school, Adams was told to end her life by other students.

            “She was being bullied the entire school year, with words such as ‘kill yourself,’ ‘you think you’re white because you ride with that white boy,’ ‘you ugly,’ ‘black bitch,’ ‘just die’.”

            Then

            Adams’ family says that McKenzie had been bullied during kindergarten at Linden Elementary before she was transferred. In a statement, Linden School District Superintendent Timothy Thurman refuted their claim.

            “There is no record of any bullying during that time and there’s no note as to why she withdrew,” he said. “She transferred to U.S. Jones Elementary School in Demopolis and she’s been there ever since.”

            Read as there's no government record of the kindergarten bullying claim, which does not mean that it didn't happen, only that the government employees in proximity to the alleged bullying did not make a record of it. Thurman's statement is pure CYA and certainly does not refute the claim.

            What government employee wants to make a record that could only come back to haunt them?

      • (Score: 2) by hemocyanin on Wednesday December 12 2018, @09:11AM

        by hemocyanin (186) on Wednesday December 12 2018, @09:11AM (#773377) Journal

        Wait, I thought it was literally impossible for black people to be racist under the modern definition of racism, you know the one that requires a person not merely be bigoted, but also "privileged".

  • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 12 2018, @02:05PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 12 2018, @02:05PM (#773438)

    Media is what the original Nazis complained about.

    • (Score: 2) by Entropy on Wednesday December 12 2018, @09:22PM

      by Entropy (4228) on Wednesday December 12 2018, @09:22PM (#773688)

      Back when the media had integrity, maybe. Nowadays the Nazis would love them.

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