Malaysiakini - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

When the government of Mohammed Mahathir took away Malaysiakini's 19 desktop computers and servers, in an attempt to silence the independent media outlet, there was a public outcry.

Within hours of the story being broken on CNN International, hundreds gathered outside the Kuala Lumpur offices to hold a candlelit vigil, demanding the return of the computers. Slowly, the government returned the hardware, enabling Malaysiakini to continue to broadcast.

Patrice Schneider and I had been there to work with editor, Steven Gan, and CEO, Premesh Chandran, on a new business plan and subscription model. It meant going back to basics and focusing on the news operations core strengths. Read more about this in a Guardian article (free registration required to access the story).

Steven and Prem have remained firm friends ever since.