9-year-old reporter breaks murder story before local papers, slams trolls

Washington: Surprising the Internet with her diligence and dexterity, nine-year-old Hilde Kate Lysiak from Pennsylvania, US, had recently hogged headlines for being the first one to break a murder story in her neighbourhood.

Hilde, who runs ‘Orange Street News’ devoted to neighbourhood reporting since 2014, was at home on April 2, when she noticed police presence and commotion a couple of blocks down her lane.

On probing neighbours and police, she was informed that the case involved a suspected murder. And like any other journalist, she immediately set to work.

But the internet did not take kindly to her efforts. People wondered if it was ‘a proper vocation’ for her age, and Hilde soon found herself at the receiving end of an online backlash. While some suggested that she play with dolls or host tea parties, others wondered why her parents encouraged such behaviour. Many even called it ‘sensationalist trash’.

But Hilde, in a follow-up video, has come out with a fitting response to her detractors.

Defending her work, Hidle said, “I worked very hard. Because of my work, I was able to inform people about a terrible murder. I was able to beat local competition. Some of them even reported the wrong news, or no news at all.”

“I know this made some of you uncomfortable, and I know some of you want me to just sit down and be quiet. But if you want me to stop covering news, then you get off your computer and do something about news. There, is that cute enough for you?” she said.

According to reports, Hilde, who describes herself as a multimedia journalist, is no alien to journalism. Her father is an author and a former reporter for New York Daily News, and used to take Hilde on his assignments.

Speaking to the media, he said “I am worried for my daughter, but what is more worrying for me than her being at a crime scene is stifling her passion.”

Reports put her subscription figures to over 200.