By Abdulai Bayraytay, Freetown, Sierra Leone.*
It continues to be a pleasure being part of the Patriotic Vanguard, an online newspaper founded ten years ago to continue to shape the media landscape in Sierra Leone and across the world.
When I started as a columnist in its nascent stage, the question then from close acquaintances was why another paper when information on particularly Sierra Leone could be sourced from a plethora of existing online publications.
Drawing from a galaxy of distinguished writers, the paper carved a niche for itself because of its professionalism, accuracy, balanced reporting and earned an enviable credibility among its millions of readers across the world.
Unsurprisingly, the paper’s popularity continues to be evident by the number of it’s editorials and stories culled and published in reputable media outlets from Asia, Africa, Europe and North America. There was a time, before the proliferation of newspapers in Sierra Leone, when shuffling through the local tabloids almost all of them had culled stories from PV. What an honour!
For this I stoutly salute the unflinching commitment and uncompromising professionalism that the CEO and Editor-in-Chief of the paper continues to uphold.
Writing then from Toronto and having gone through the ranks and rose to the coveted position of Deputy CEO (now on leave after taking up an appointment with the government of Sierra Leone), I feel very much gratified to associate myself with a newspaper whose credibility is largely achieved through its objective reporting of the news, rather than inventing it, giving the opportunity to news makers to tell their own side of the story, rather than being prejudiced against them, and, above all, respecting the ABCs of journalism at all times. This is Patriotic Vanguard through the years.
As we celebrate our tenth year anniversary, I salute the Editor-in-Chief/Publisher and congratulate the team for continuing to help shape the socio-economic and political dynamics of our great country, Sierra Leone, and the rest of the world through journalism.
Congratulations PV. I wish you an optimistic brighter future ahead!!
*Abdulai Bayraytay has been a practising journalist for over twenty years. He is presently the National Publicity and Outreach Coordinator in the Office of Government Spokesman of the Republic of Sierra Leone. He holds a Bachelor’s degree with Honours from Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone,Master’s degrees in Political Science and Social Work (with a specialization in child protection) from Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Toronto both in Canada respectively.
Comments