In the current economic and political climate, when journalists are pushed towards partisan or tabloid content, citizen and community journalism carries much hope for maintaining a standard of accountability in society. In the heart of Sicily, one man and his family-run TV station is in charge of an hour-and-a-half-long news broadcast, one of the longest in Europe. Pino Maniaci, the stubborn self-made journalist and director of Telejato, is a unique combination of Don Quijote and Groucho Marx, and a relentless voice against corruption and organized crime. Constantly threatened by the mafia, he does not compromise for anything and is living proof of the crucial role that can be played by dedicated independent community journalists. 

With the recent offensive of the political oligarchy against the last bastions of investigative journalism in Romania, perhaps we should learn a thing or two from Maniaci - and from the community that stands by him.