Op-Ed: Citizen Journalist Picks Top 5 Citizen Journalists for 2008

The year is coming to a close, and mainstream presses are picking their winners in every category imaginable. It is, however, the devotion, hard work, and no small talent that often brings firsthand accounts of news that mainstream folks don’t find.

These unsung heroes deserve recognition as well. It is because in a world of hurt it is important to reveal people in every walk of life that are making a difference. I post for Digital Journal, an online news source that is a stand out in the race for the best. But there are others who have online material that deserve recognition. New American Ethnic Media does a great job with its blogs and forums to ferret out stories about events that the big boys might shelve. I-report on CNN gives information from the birds’ eyes of the views of talented writers and photographers that we might not otherwise appreciate. Let’s not forget YouTube, of course, where bad stuff appears that anyone can upload but that also is the source of sending messages to people not in the loop with frontline sources. So let’s give the “attaboys” and the attention deserved to some credible folk who have done incredible things. My first choice, and deservedly so, is a woman from the Netherlands. Her spotlight on the problems of South Africa places her in the top ten on the list of best citizen journalists. Adriana Struijt has worked as a full time journalist in that country and can appreciate its history from the standpoint of someone who has been there and done that. She takes South Africa’s pain and reveals it to those who might not otherwise learn about it. Her riveting story about the thousands of farmers killed in South Africa since 1994 brings recognition of what citizen journalism can do to alert the world about real problems. Kudos to her for the #1 spot, according to this CJ. A photo journalist, Mohammed Omer, won the first annual National Ethnic Media Award for Best Youth Voice and deservedly so. BBSNews highlighted Mohammed, for the story he wrote that was published in New American Ethnic Media entitled "'Sharon, Why Did You Destroy My House?'" in which he described with the earnestness of a more mature journalist the incursion of Israelis into Palestine during the month of May in 2004. The onsite account of what happened should make every journalist proud to be part of a profession in which a young man like this leads, at the #2 spot, per my vote. Andrew Lam, also of NAM, makes the top group as well. He covered the Democratic National Convention and other top stories from his post as an online journalist. His story “Letter From Athens: Greek Tragedies & the News Media in the Age of Twitter” discusses the riots in Athens, Greece before mainstream press got to the story. He chronicled the people who gathered in large numbers, setting fires in the city in protest against the police who had shot a 15-year-old boy. Bloggers had gathered from all over the world and were there on scene to write about a major happening neglected by the press ordinarily considered tops. Lam proves, however, that what the mainstream media focuses upon might not be where it ought to be. Johannes Mosler is a cellist, not a writer or an actor, but his earnest discussion of the Google – YouTube concert planned for Carnegie Hall in New York for April 2008 deserves recognition. He hasn’t brought world recognition of some striking and tragic happening, but his voice for something wonderful must be given proper attention. He gets a vote for having participated and leading the way for an anticipated event that will bring world musicians together in a charming and creative way. There is a simple, direct but refreshingly beautiful story about ultimate goodness told in pictures and a little prose by a young man who calls himself skyblue dream that gets my vote for recognition.. He records the volunteers from Craigslist that gathered to feed the homeless in Austin, Texas. He had no family in town and took it upon himself to advertise to feed needy people three days before Christmas and reviews the outcome of his advertisement in a moving way. Who would think of doing this and writing about it then an ordinary citizen like this. These are my top five choices, and there are sure to be others. It is our job to find the best and the worst and the most interesting around the world. Now, folks you have a go yourself and join me in finding others of these remarkable folk who go out of their way to communicate about the needs and concerns of people around the world.