Time's 'Person of the Year' honors 'The Guardians': imprisoned or murdered journalists of 2018

In a time when the president of the United States calls journalists "the enemy of the people," Time magazine honored fallen and imprisoned journalists, calling them "The Guardians," as their "Person of the Year" for 2018.

The magazine honored these journalists across four different covers, featuring murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Filipino journalist Maria Ressa, imprisoned Reuters journalists Kyaw Soe Oo and Wa Lone, and the staff of the Capital Gazette, the Maryland newspaper where five journalists were killed by a gunman.

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Along with honoring the journalists featured, these choices provide a strong rebuke of the anti-press rhetoric of President Trump as well as of powers that have cracked down on the freedom of the press worldwide — Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte, and Aung San Suu Kyi’s government in Myanmar.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 52 journalists have been killed so far in 2018, with dozens more imprisoned.

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In his explanation of the choices, Time editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal said:

In its highest forms, influence—the measure that has for nine decades been the focus of TIME’s Person of the Year—derives from courage. Like all human gifts, courage comes to us at varying levels and at varying moments. This year we are recognizing four journalists and one news organization who have paid a terrible price to seize the challenge of this moment.

While Trump is not directly responsible for the deaths and imprisonment of the journalists honored here, he still casts a shadow over the selections, having stood by the Saudi Crown Prince even as more evidence of his role in Khashoggi's murder was found, and heaping praise upon Duterte's strong-arm tactics.

And Trump's criticism of the American press — save Fox News — continues, a steady drumbeat that's been beating the entirety of his presidency with no signs of slowing down.

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Meanwhile, Trump himself was a member of Time's shortlist for the honor, alongside current nemesis Robert Mueller. Other shortlist members included Black Panther director Ryan Coogler, South Korean president Moon Jae-In, Meghan Markle, and the young activists at the heart of March For Our Lives.