Rappler’s Glenda Gloria awarded 2023 WAN-IFRA Women in News Editorial Leadership laureate

At the 2023 World News Media Congress held in Taiwan set June 28 to 30, Rappler executive editor Glenda Gloria was named the 2023 Laureate for Southeast Asia in the WAN-IFRA Women in News Editorial Leadership Award, along with two other co-laureates Emang Mutapati, editor-in-chief of The Voice in Botswana, and Lina Ejeilat, co-founder and editor-in-chief of 7iber in Jordan.

The awards were given in recognition of their contributions to the newsroom by showing outstanding leadership and editorial integrity, and their respective media organization’s contribution to society.

“I consider this award a tribute to newsroom leaders and managers in the global south, like myself, who serve as the gatekeepers fighting for newsroom independence every single day…It has been a most challenging time for newsroom leaders of my generation, but this award is telling us to carry on and keep going despite doubts about our relevance given the polluted information ecosystem,” Gloria said.

Mutapati called the victory “a win for independent journalism” that’s “underpinned by inclusivity, gender balance, equity and diversity.”

Ejeilat said that, with the win, she feels that “there is a responsibility to keep trying to put forward the type of journalism we provide” despite great challenges such as the “narrowing of freedoms in the public sphere and the difficulty to sustain independent media organizations.”

WAN-IFRA’s CEO Vincent  Peyregne, on giving the awards, expressed the importance of diversity and inclusion. He said, “Diversity and inclusion must be central to any media’s business model, yet still today women are underrepresented at the most senior editorial levels. In recognizing the substantial editorial achievements of these exceptional newsroom leaders we are also shining a light on the continued gap we need to bridge as an industry to bring more diverse voices and leadership into our news.”

The Women in News Editorial Leadership Award, launched in Africa in 2014, expanded to include the Arab Region in 2017 and was launched in Southeast Asia in 2021. One exceptional editorial leader from each region is named Laureate annually.

In 2022, WAN-IFRA awarded the laureate to ABS-CBN news chief Ging Reyes. – Rappler.com