The Verdict

Finally, after nearly 11 months, we have a verdict in one of the worst serial killings in history.

And two of Orato's citizen correspondents have helped write that history.

The record will read that Willie Pickton, a Vancouver-area pig farmer was found guilty Sunday in six counts of murder most foul. History will also show that Orato correspondents Trisha Baptie and Pauline VanKoll made history of their own, by becoming the first (former) sex trade workers to cover the trial of a killer who preyed on other sex trade workers.

For me, Trisha and Pauline are what Orato is all about. They are not trained court reporters; they're not even trained journalists, yet they have a unique and powerful perspective on the news. In their stories they have never forgotten that the people killed by Pickton (and perhaps accomplices unknown) were real people with names, hopes, dreams, fears, ideas, personalities and families. As former sex trade workers themselves, they both knew what it was like to stand out there on a corner selling their bodies to any creep with the cash in order to feed their families or fill the holes in their arms and in their hearts. They have never, not for a second, forgotten Sereena Abotsway, Mona Wilson, Andrea Joesbury, Brenda Wolfe, Georgina Papin and Marnie Frey.

And because of that, the coverage of this trial has been like nothing I've ever seen.

By sticking it out, day after day, month after month, Trisha and Pauline have ensured that none of the other reporters covering this trial forgot about the six victims either. And today, as both of them are eagerly sought by the Canadian and international media covering the verdict, I have a strange, bittersweet reaction to watching the handsomely dressed and handsomely coiffed pros so respectfully solicit the Orato correspondents' opinion.

That certainly wasn't the case 11 months ago when we put out the call and Trisha and Pauline volunteered. The media questions came with sharp points on the end: What do they know about the legal system? Are you worried they are going to cause a mistrial because of their ignorance about what they can or cannot report? "Can they maintain professional objectivity? Are they in for the money?" And once they found out Orato was covering their only expenses, "Are you exploiting them" (By the way, if you want to show your appreciation for their work, you can contribute to their tip jars, which will go to helping Trisha raise her family or further Pauline's aim to study journalism.)

Gradually, over the months, the questions faded away and Trisha and Pauline's media status grew. Once the pros realized they were sincere in their desire to witness this trial on behalf of the disenfranchised, exploited, violated and abused sex trade workers on Vancouver's mean streets, they were charmed and fascinated by these women who were not like them, but who had a job to do, just like them. I have been struck by how Trish and Pauline's natural authority has become clear and how today, just after the Pickton verdict came down, they were able to report and speak on behalf of the victims at the same time. I am very proud of both of them.

We at Orato know that "citizen journalism" is not a joke or a contradiction in terms, but a new kind of reporting, prompted by Internet technology, which allows us to lower the gate and provide the platform. We've put up with jibes about "citizen dentistry" (cheerfully I might add) because we believe that the work of people such as Trisha Baptie and Pauline VanKoll is a meaningful complement to professional journalism. There is really nothing new about this form of participant-observer - it's been around since Plato documented the life of Socrates but it certainly is a timely rediscovery, timely because the traditional media have become increasingly hidebound, self-absorbed and rigid and it was time to open the windows and let some other folks in: people who just want to tell their story; people who have a compelling story to tell, and to tell it they don't really need a badge.

Trisha and Pauline got the badges anyway and worked diligently to report responsibly on the proceedings. Despite the exaggerated concerns of their colleagues in the media pews, they understood that in a court of law, the plaintiff is innocent until proven guilty and the right to a fair trial is a benchmark of a civilized country, so they were careful. But they were radically and refreshingly honest in their chronicle of this moment in history - they included their own pasts, their fears, their foibles, their deepest human frailties. Their stories made me feel human when I read them, unlike the sterile "objectivity" of most of the coverage from the pros. I understand the convention; I just don't understand why the convention is sacred, and after spending 11 months working besides Trisha and Pauline, I wonder if more than one reporter is doing a little soul-searching.

In the wake of the verdict, the coverage will continue, and Trisha and Pauline and others will continue to post their witness on this site. It's free for everyone. I hope you will follow our citizen correspondents' example and add your own voices, whether it's on the Pickton trial or whatever's going on in your own patch of the planet.

But before I finish, I would just like to take a moment to thank the family members of the women who died. Thank you for helping Trish and Pauline and Orato tell their stories. And with you, I grieve for their loss and yours. I can only hope that this trial and your ordeal has helped expose the unconscionable tragedy of prostitution and that something will now be done to help the women who are down to their last resort.