thinking about a different kind of journalism

One of the ways that I'm interested in, is how to bring the realities of the world into Singapore? And so far, the only way I can think of, is to travel around the world, and post it on a blog, and have it carried by the media.

Do something truly bold, that people will follow.

And for me, that means, going around to the worst places in the world, and see how people are coping, and how others around the world are helping. How are MIT students bringing their technology to the villages? How is the OLPC initiative working? How are the UN people doing their humanitarian projects?

By this coverage, I would hope that kids in Singapore begin to realise that what they study, what they learn, aren't simply facts or photographs to be browsed over, becoming just another byline on the CNA news channel, but rather, these stories become tangible in their minds.

Ok. So The New Paper has covered stuff like that before. Journalists from Singapore HAVE travelled across the world to bring these stories. Why would things be any different?

To that question, I have no response, other than the fact that being outside mainstream media, though perhaps augmented by it, that someone might have the freedom to share these personal stories to kids, have it followed by blogs and twitter, have exhibitions in schools and JCs, solely for people to get inspired.

Also, it won't be about the reporting negativity and suffering. These stories will be about hope as well, about the generosity of humanity... For the engineers-, and scientists- to be, to let them know that their research will not be trivial, their subjects are not trivial... To let them know that, for the biggest issues that we face, the solutions already exist, and it is a matter of action to get started. There is a difference to be made, and it is a good difference that can be done.

Ultimately, it is about changing the world, and it is about changing the world one person at a time, about the heart. It doesn't have to be some rural village in Africa or India, it could be inspiring the kid next to us, as well.

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