From Happiness, to Happy Feet, to HappyNews

One of the Malaysian Chinese daily e-newspapers that we frequently read to monitor the pulse of Malaysia is Sin Chew Jit Pau, which has an English version. Then two days ago we came across an article “Life Is At Its Best When We Are Thankful” by Craig Harris reproduced from Happynews.com.

My curiosity pricked, I looked up the website and was pleasantly surprised. So from blogging about happiness, to Happy Feet, we arrived at Happynews.

But before I proceed, let’s take a moment to ponder what Criag said:

“Without hope, life would not be worth living and being thankful reminds us of the hope we have.”

So in one breath, that’s the gist of the Thanksgiving spirit.

Real News. Compelling Stories. Always Positive. That’s the credo of Happynews.com.

Have a happy search. That’s the tagline for the search box.

Report happy news. That’s the challenge on the left side bar.

In contrast, Unhappy News. And the list of the major news stations follows.

All these about sum up the philosophy of the happy-news-only news website set up in July 2005.

They are not sorry about “looking for happy stories only” nor are they apologetic in believing that "much of the traditional media ... reports a disproportionate amount of negative news.” So they “are trying to balance the scales back out”.

And they do this through Citizen Reporters who “go out and interview people for direct quotes, to find anecdotes, and cover events in their backyards and communities that may not grab the attention of standard media outlets. This fresh and immediate perspective is the added value Citizen Journalism brings our readers.”

And who comprise this corps of citizen journalists? Your average Joe on the street really. "Teachers, bus drivers, mothers, fathers, community volunteers, beginning writers, college students, friends, just about anyone who wants to share local stories with the world".

Then there are “professional freelance journalists also feel compelled to contribute stories to our site.” And to complete the basket of news getters: "We also pull all the positive news stories we can from the Associated Press and other wire services".

Then the clincher: Does HappyNews.com have a hidden agenda? Their answer: "There is no hidden agenda. We have no religious or political agenda at all. We are simply dedicated to bringing more happy news into the world for people of all races, creeds, and religions to enjoy".

So if you need a daily dose of happy news to prop you up, to tide you over the day, to feel good about life in general, to have hope, this is definitely one website you want to keep in your Favorites/Bookmarks.

Better still, if you wish to be proactive and make a difference, and have a journalistic bend that needs expression but have not ventured forth because of a perceived lack of a worthy cause, sign up as a citizen journalist like Craig.

Me? Visit Happynews.com often to find out.