One Year from the Myanmar Military Coup and Three Months before the Philippines’ Presidential Election: The Situation Facing the Media in Southeast Asia

The Irrawaddy was founded in 1993 by a group of Burmese journalists living in exile in Thailand. The publication published news on Myanmar and Southeast Asia, and is now based both in Myanmar and Thailand.
Aung Zaw is the founding editor-in-chief of the Irrawaddy. His articles and op-ed pieces have also appeared in Thai publications such as the Nation and Bangkok Post, as well as in the International Herald Tribune, New York Times, Asian Wall Street Journal, Foreign Policy and many other publications. He is a laureate of the Prince Claus Fund (2010). He received the Shorenstein Journalism Award in 2013 and the CPJ International Press Freedom Award in 2014. He is the author of The Face of Resistance - Aung San Suu Kyi and Burma's Fight for Freedom.

Rappler is the Philippines' leading digital media company, which was born mid-2011 as Facebook page MovePH, and launched its website rappler.com in January 2012. In 2021, Rappler’s founder/CEO Maria Ressa received the Nobel Peace Prize. Rappler received the 2018 Free Media Pioneer award from The International Press Institute. Rappler has nearly 5 million Facebook followers, and is known for its deep analysis and thorough investigative journalism. Among its senior editors and founders, Chay is managing editor. She was previously head of Rappler’s Investigative Desk – Newsbreak – and is in charge of training. Before joining Rappler, she was a contributing writer of Newsbreak Magazine and was one of its founding editors. She obtained her graduate degree from Columbia University’s School of Journalism in New York.