"Trying to undermine or to sideline Maria Ressa or Rappler is a huge assault on the press in the Philippines," Conde says. He is now an academic in his native Australia and founding director of the Alliance for Journalists' Freedom. The 2018 World Press Freedom Index, created by advocacy group Reporters without Borders (RSF), includes Australia, New Zealand and South Korea in its ranking of the top 50 nations for press freedom. Ressa speaks onstage at the Committee To Protect Journalists' International Press Freedom Awards in November 2018. Trump's influenceUS President Donald Trump's invective against the press is never far from the minds of press freedom advocates in Asia.

Source: CNN February 16, 2019 02:27 UTC