BANGLADESH

The first-ever citizen journalism-based blog, blog., is celebrating its first year of practice of citizen journalism on its Bengali website.

Editor-in-chief Toufique Imrose Khalidi inaugurated the celebration at a function at the Public Library auditorium in the city on Sunday.

"While launching the blog a year ago, I had said that it won't be like other blogs," Khalidi, the chief guest of the function, said.

"Here, bloggers will not only comment on other incidents or issues, they will also give information. They will practise a type of journalism," he added.

Referring to a cliché the proverb 'comment is cheap, information expensive', he said it is easy to comment but hard to collect or give information.

The work to present information has become easy due to easy access to information technology, he said.

"To me, scrutinising the information is a tougher job."

"We need to be alert when the issue is responsibility," Khalidi added.

He unveiled a publication containing a compilation of selected writings of bloggers over the last year, called 'Nagar Kabya'.

Ten bloggers, who have enriched the blog and made it an alternative medium through their contributions and strong opinions since its inception last year were given away Nagarik Sommanona Award.

The award recipients are Abu Sufian, Mottalib Darbari, Basanta Bishu, M Sahid, Nijhum Majumder, 'Futurist', Ilias Chowdhury, Nahuan Myth, Mamun M Aziz and Probir Bidhan.

Three bloggers were also given special awards. They are M Hashem, who contributed highest number of posts, Nahuan Myth, the highest commenter, and Ilias Chowdhury, who contributed the highest number of photo posts.

The site was inaugurated at the Little Mag Corner of the Amar Ekushey Gronthomela on Feb 11 last year.

"Here," he continued, "the two sides will have to be responsible – you will give information as citizen journalists and the moderators will check it."

"We should keep in mind that everyone will have to suffer if fails to behave responsibly.

The issue of law or rules surfaces when freedom is misused, he felt.

"We may have to pay the price culturally, socially and politically for being irresponsible in [using] internet," he said.